Stone Village

Su Bai returned to the minor outpost.

The so-called minor outpost was merely a few small cave abodes casually carved into a secluded spot on a hillside.

At most, they were only a few square meters in size. With a little disguise on the outside, they looked no different from ordinary mountain caves.

What a patrol team needed from its cave abodes was concealment.

Though the conditions were somewhat harsh, they were still suitable for daily meditation and cultivation.

Su Bai chose a cave abode and took a meditation cushion from his Storage Bag. That would be his cultivation spot from then on.

Patrols within the minor outpost were divided into three shifts: one fixed patrol each in the morning and evening, plus one random patrol.

With patrols of such intensity, the Jade Mist Sect could grasp any incident near Qingyun Mountain at the First Moment.

Two patrols had already been completed today. All that remained was to follow the fixed route once more in the evening.

Thus, Su Bai took out the Feather Fall Technique from his Storage Bag and began cultivating it.

Once mastered, this spell could increase Su Bai's movement speed by thirty to forty percent and allow him to descend from great heights without injury, making it quite practical.

As he familiarized himself with the hand seals and recited the ancient incantation, Su Bai noticed that the Feather Fall Technique bore some resemblance to the Light Body Technique.

The two should have been related as an advanced spell and its predecessor.

As a result, he cultivated it far faster than an ordinary Tier 1 Mid-grade Spell.

Su Bai estimated that he would master it in around five days.

Furthermore, although no Spirit Gathering Array had been set up in the cave abode due to limited conditions, they were still at the foot of Qingyun Mountain. Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy was not truly as scarce as it was in the mortal world.

Among the three team members, one was specifically responsible for cooking Spirit Rice.

The Spirit Rice was distributed monthly by the sect to patrol squads. Each person's allotment was roughly three times what they received in the Outer Court.

To Su Bai, now at Qi Refining Layer Six, it was better than nothing.

Night fell. It was around eight or nine in the evening.

Tonight's patrol began.

The three team members came outside Su Bai's cave abode and called for him.

Only then did Su Bai, immersed in cultivation, come back to his senses. "Is it time for patrol?"

Su Bai sprang to his feet.

Outside the cave abode lay a desolate wilderness, with a round moon hanging high overhead.

"Let's go." Su Bai led the three Outer Court Disciples onto the patrol route.

It was early February, and most animals were still hibernating.

The mountain forest was exceptionally quiet.

Cultivators possessed outstanding memories. Having walked this fixed route once during the day, Su Bai had already committed it to memory.

This route followed the high ground, allowing them to take in most of the outpost's territory while patrolling.

Halfway through the route, standing on high ground, they could see by moonlight the outline of the small village called Stone Village in the distance.

Only two or three lights shone within the village. A stream flowed past it with a babbling murmur, and the occasional bark of a dog drifted through the night.

This stream flowed down from Qingyun Mountain. Though most of its Spiritual Energy had dissipated by the time it reached the foot of the mountain, drinking its water daily would certainly prolong one's life.

Aside from its poverty and inconvenient contact with the outside world, Stone Village was truly a paradise cut off from the world.

They continued their patrol until they reached the boundary with another minor outpost.

This patrol was then considered complete.

Including the return trip, the entire journey took one shichen.

Though this Patrol Task took a long time, the process itself was fairly easy.

After returning to the cave abode, Su Bai continued cultivating the Feather Fall Technique.

It was not until the latter half of the night that he finally sat down to meditate and sleep.

The next day's patrol was scheduled for eight or nine in the morning.

During patrols, they had to be careful to avoid the people of Stone Village who came up the mountain to chop wood or hunt.

If they happened to run into them head-on, the Stone Village villagers would generally fall to their knees and beg for immortal pills, treating Jade Mist Sect Disciples as immortals. It was rather amusing.

And so, seven or eight days passed.

Su Bai had successfully mastered the Feather Fall Technique.

With the Feather Fall Technique, his movements through the mountain forest became even more graceful.

During that time, a Demonic Beast entered the outpost's territory.

Worried that this Demonic Beast might harm the villagers of Stone Village,

Su Bai acted at the First Moment. Holding a Low-grade Magic Sword, he killed the First-tier Demonic Beast with a single streak of Sword Qi.

Only after witnessing Su Bai's attack did the team members realize that their captain was actually a Sword Cultivator who had condensed Sword Qi, with unmatched Combat Power!

At once, their confidence during patrols rose by three parts.

This First-tier Demonic Beast had not condensed a Demonic Core, which was somewhat regrettable.

Even more regrettable was that, without Wang Jue's cooking skills, the Demonic Beast Meat that Su Bai eagerly had the team members prepare was so rank and foul that it was inedible.

Su Bai somewhat missed Wang Jue...

Although this outpost was relatively peaceful among the more than twenty outposts beneath Qingyun Mountain,

that did not mean unexpected incidents would never occur.

That day, while patrolling in daylight, Su Bai and the others discovered a group entering Stone Village.

Four martial artists escorted a pale-faced youth dressed in luxurious clothing.

"More mortal nobles here to beg for immortal pills," Pang San, a member of the squad, said.

Pang San's real name was Xu San. He stood eight chi tall, and his massive build made him look more like a cook than a cultivator. Thus, everyone who knew him called him Pang San. He was at Qi Refining Stage Four.

He had been stationed at this outpost the longest and knew the situations encountered during patrols like the back of his hand.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Pang San." Su Bai patted Pang San's broad shoulder.

Pang San chuckled. "The captain's orders must be obeyed! Don't worry, Senior Brother Su. I'll keep watch here. Nothing will go wrong."

Su Bai nodded slightly and led the other two team members back to the cave abode to cultivate.

Pang San kept watch over the mortal group from a small slope outside Stone Village.

Based on past experience, he thought that after waiting a little longer, these people would fail to find any trace of Qingyun Mountain or any 'immortals,' then naturally leave in anger.

He had cultivated all night last night and was feeling sleepy now. Thus, after yawning, he fell asleep amid the grass.

With heaven as his blanket and earth as his bed, he slept rather sweetly. By the time he woke, two shichen had already passed.

Pang San looked toward the village again and discovered that the group from before had vanished without a trace. A faint scent of blood drifted over on the wind.

"Hm? This is bad!"

Alarm bells rang in Pang San's heart. He activated the Feather Fall Technique, and his enormous three-hundred-jin body floated as lightly as a feather as he rushed toward Stone Village.

By then, Stone Village had already become a scene of utter devastation.

All more than two hundred villagers had been slaughtered to the last.

The culprits should have been the four mortal martial artists following the youth. To silently slaughter two hundred people showed that the four martial artists had already reached the pinnacle of the mortal world.

They were very likely the legendary Innate Martial Artists.

No matter what, Stone Village—a village fated with the Jade Mist Sect—had been slaughtered clean beneath Pang San's very eyes. Pang San and this patrol squad could not escape responsibility.

Pang San's face turned deathly pale. He felt he had let down the captain. The captain had only just taken office, yet had already encountered such a matter.

If he had not taken that nap, he likely could have stopped this massacre.

When Su Bai received the message through the Jade Talisman, he was in his cave abode tempering the Profound Sword True Essence Art.

Upon hearing the news, his vision went black.

There were rewards for completing sect missions well, but that did not mean there were no punishments at all for failure!

Su Bai first used the captain's token to report the matter to nearby Inner Disciples. He then left two team members behind on guard and rushed alone toward Stone Village.

No matter what, the murderers had to be brought to justice.