Transfer Order (Thanks to the Alliance Leader, Low-Key Sword's Beginning)

Purgatory Sect.

One of the Ten Great Demon Sects, it dominated Chi Province and held the power of life and death over its thirty million people.

Of Chi Province's nineteen cities, thirteen lay entirely under the control of the Purgatory Demon Sect. Their city lords and county magistrates were all elders and protectors of the sect.

Though the six border cities and neighboring forces clashed constantly, leaving unrest unceasing, they too were largely under the Purgatory Sect's control.

At this moment, within a magnificent palace carved with dragons and phoenixes in Chishan City, the provincial capital, a young man dressed in lavish robes, with fair skin and the air of a royal heir, was speaking with an old man.

Lin Xiao.

Deputy Sect Master of the Purgatory Sect.

"Elder Gu Jinlai is indeed qualified to exchange for a Spirit Nourishing Pill. Clear rewards and punishments are the foundation upon which our Purgatory Sect was built. Sect Master Lin need not say more."

The speaker was Situ Yi, the elder in charge of the Reward and Punishment Hall.

"Hall Master Situ misunderstands. As Deputy Sect Master, how could I fail to understand such a principle? I am even more committed than Hall Master Situ to upholding the sect's rules."

Lin Xiao smiled faintly.

"Then I shall have this Spirit Nourishing Pill delivered to him."

"Of course I will not stop Hall Master Situ."

Lin Xiao said, "It is merely that the Supervision Hall is still verifying whether Gu Jinlai's claimed merits are genuine. To prevent Hall Master Situ from being misled, it would be better to wait until the Supervision Hall completes its investigation before granting the pill."

"Whether his merits are genuine? Countless people witnessed Elder Gu slay two Core Forming experts of the Yellow Heaven Sect. What is there left to verify?"

Situ Yi looked astonished.

"It is true that he slew two Core Forming elders of the Yellow Heaven Sect, but he did not expand our Purgatory Sect's territory or kill enemies in defense of the sect. It was a private grudge."

Lin Xiao said, "His disciple, Xie Xiaowan, betrayed her master and joined the Yellow Heaven Sect. She later invited elders from the Yellow Heaven Sect to kill him, and he only killed the two in self-defense. The nature of the matter is different. Whether it counts as merit is naturally another question."

Situ Yi fell silent.

He knew that Lin Xiao was suppressing Gu Jinlai.

But...

Though the Deputy Sect Master assisted the Sect Master in handling the sect's trivial affairs, he still wielded immense authority. His weight was beyond compare to that of an elder.

Moreover, the fault lay primarily with the Supervision Hall. Situ Yi immediately nodded and put away the Spirit Nourishing Pill. "Very well. We shall wait until the Supervision Hall verifies the matter before granting the reward."

Gu Jinlai recovered his true qi and tended to his injuries.

The next day, two people hurried to the courtyard where he resided.

One was around thirty, stubbled and weathered, as though he had rushed in from afar.

The other was young and handsome, fair-skinned, with the air of a pretty boy.

"Master."

The two said, "We came too late and allowed Master to suffer."

Gu Jinlai looked at them.

Su Nanxing and Gu Xiangyang.

His other two disciples.

Su Nanxing had been adopted by him since childhood. He was a cultivation fanatic who cared for nothing except cultivation and carrying out Gu Jinlai's orders. He was extremely taciturn. At thirty-nine, he already possessed peak Core Forming strength.

Gu Xiangyang had displayed talent for cultivation from an early age. Though ten years younger than Su Nanxing, he had also condensed gang through Qi Refining.

The two could be called his right-hand men.

"Ancestor, shall I transfer men from the clan? There is strength in numbers! The clan members have drilled daily in the Heavenly Star Profound Fire Formation you instructed us to create. With the clan head, six Gang Condensing cultivators, myself, and twenty Qi Refining clan members manning the formation, if Eldest Senior Brother and Ancestor join it as well, even a Spirit Refining cultivator can be trapped and slain."

Gu Xiangyang's gaze was fierce. "Furthermore, the Long Wind Army at home has completed its training: three hundred elite soldiers and eighty fierce warriors, led by forty centurions. Armored and armed, they can besiege and kill two or three Core Forming experts without difficulty. If we pour out the nest, we can overturn the Orthodox One Sect and slaughter them until blood flows like a river."

Hearing Gu Xiangyang's words, Gu Jinlai felt greatly comforted in his old age.

But he also knew that it was unrealistic.

"If we overturn the Orthodox One Sect, the Gu Clan's decades of accumulation will vanish like smoke, and the clan's younger generation will likely be killed or wounded to the last. Lin Xiao would love nothing more than to see us do that."

Gu Jinlai narrowed his eyes.

"But if we do nothing, others will think that our Gu Clan, that you, Ancestor, are easy to bully..."

"No matter. Once my Spirit Nourishing Pill arrives and I recover my Spirit Refining cultivation, I will properly wrestle with them."

Gu Jinlai said.

When Gu Xiangyang heard that his ancestor's cultivation could be restored, his eyes immediately lit up.

"You came to Changjun City this time without authorization. To avoid giving others something to seize upon, return at once."

Gu Jinlai narrowed his eyes. "Su Nanxing will remain. Relinquish your post for now and follow me for a while. I have matters for you to handle."

"Whatever Master says, I will do."

Su Nanxing said in a deep voice.

Gu Jinlai then turned to Gu Xiangyang. "Have the clan head secretly inquire into people of upright character in Xuanjing City and record their names. Once the matter here is settled, I will make a trip there."

"Yes."

"Su Nanxing, your task is the same. Find out who the good and kind people are in Changjun City. Do it secretly. Do not draw attention."

"Yes."

"Go."

Gu Jinlai waved a hand.

Over the following days, Gu Jinlai nursed his injuries while diligently practicing his movement technique, hoping to gain an initial grasp of it. At the same time, he waited for the sect to send the Spirit Nourishing Pill.

Yet instead of the Spirit Nourishing Pill, Fang Cai and Hong Shan, two Core Forming elders, arrived.

More than ten others accompanied them.

Among those dozen or so people, however, the most eye-catching was an old man.

The old man had white hair and a youthful face, bearing the immortal air and Daoist bones of a transcendent.

Gu Jinlai immediately guessed his identity.

Void-Piercing Sword Zhou Yunyi.

Like him, Zhou Yunyi was a Spirit Refining elder of the Purgatory Sect.

But unlike Gu Jinlai, Zhou Yunyi had already lived to the venerable age of one hundred and twenty-six.

Great age meant great seniority. It also meant failing blood and qi, and the time to seek a path for one's future.

"Elder Gu, the sect has issued an order. The situation in Changjun City has changed, and I will take over from here."

Zhou Yunyi said expressionlessly.

The moment Gu Jinlai saw this Spirit Refining elder, he had guessed something. He had not expected Zhou Yunyi to be so direct.

"The situation has changed? What change has occurred in Changjun City that I do not know about?"

"Heh. Need I spell it out? Rumors outside say that Elder Gu's cultivation deviation was a show staged with the Orthodox One Sect, but do we not know the truth ourselves? With insufficient strength, can Elder Gu still hold down the situation in Changjun City?"

"It is only a minor injury, a temporary fluctuation."

"Injured?"

Zhou Yunyi presented an appointment document. "An Elder Hall transfer order. Elder Gu is being transferred to Huayin County to preside over the situation there. Since you are injured, you should recuperate properly. There is no need for you to worry about Changjun City anymore."

Huayin County.

A county with a population of fewer than one hundred thousand.

As long as he remained in Changjun City, no matter what ideas those beneath him had, he still had three Core Forming experts, more than twenty Qi Refining and Gang Condensing cultivators, and over a hundred outer sect disciples.

Moreover, Changjun City was crowded and full of prying eyes. Under everyone's gaze, the methods Lin Xiao could use against him were limited.

But if he went to Huayin County...

"Has Elder Zhou pledged himself to Sect Master Lin?"

Gu Jinlai narrowed his eyes.

"Sect Master Lin is Sect Master Lin. This old man is this old man."

Zhou Yunyi said. Gu Jinlai looked at the dozen or so people behind Zhou Yunyi.

Disciples, juniors...

They had their eyes on Changjun City.

So they had hit it off with Lin Xiao at once?

"What Elder Zhou is doing is kicking a man when he is down."

"Accept the transfer order, and Elder Gu should set out as soon as possible."

Zhou Yunyi did not answer, speaking only of the transfer order.

"You and I are both elders. Must Elder Zhou truly go this far? Must you send me to Huayin County?"

"Elders? I, a Black-Robed Elder, cannot afford to cling to a Gold-Robed Elder such as yourself."

Zhou Yunyi glanced at him. "Sect Master Lin has shown consideration for Elder Gu's years of hard work and great contributions, and has specially petitioned the Elder Hall to promote Elder Gu to Gold-Robed Elder. Once the Elder Hall completes its assessment of Elder Gu's merits and condition, Elder Gu will soar to great heights. Black robes, gold robes, red robes—one more step beyond red robes, and you may enter the Council of Elders."

At this point, his tone paused. "Of course, do not fail the assessment when the time comes and have an elder demoted to protector instead."

With that, he sharply flung his sleeve. "Elder Gu, it is getting late. Pack your things and go."

(The first alliance leader of this book, a companion from a very, very long time ago. Thank you for your unwavering support.)