Boarding the Flying Boat

The order was given.

It was like a spark landing in dry tinder, completely igniting the Flying Immortal Peak disciples, whose spirits had been low for days.

Seeing more and more people heading to the summit to board the flying boats, Wen Jiu still showed no sign of moving.

To be honest.

He really didn't want to go.

As expected.

In the sect, promotion brought benefits that Rogue Cultivators couldn't obtain even after a lifetime of toil—but it also came at a price.

That price might well be his life.

Meanwhile, Wang Nian hurried home, gave his wife a few instructions, then turned around and headed straight for Wen Jiu's house.

Seeing Wen Jiu still standing there, gazing into the distance from the courtyard, Wang Nian hurriedly called out, "Brother Wen, it's time to go... Don't tell me you're afraid to go?"

That night, Wang Nian had learned that Wen Jiu had taken his wife with him to avoid the battle. It had given him an even clearer picture of the man before him. The kid was all outward strength, but a coward at heart!

Still, even though he was afraid, he had been willing to help look after Wang Nian's wife. This brotherhood hadn't been wasted on him.

Wen Jiu smiled helplessly.

Did Wang Nian think he was a coward?

Well, that worked out.

He had an excuse to hang back.

As for what other people thought of him, it didn't matter. He'd already taken the Unorthodox Path; what did one more reputation for cowardice matter?

"Stick with me when we get there. Don't worry, big brother will protect you!" Wang Nian said, then led Wen Jiu swiftly toward Flying Immortal Peak.

That suited Wen Jiu just fine.

Latch onto a strong back.

Let the strong charge ahead.

Before long.

The first flying boat filled up and took off.

Wen Jiu boarded the second one.

The two flying boats carried at least seven or eight hundred people.

Wen Jiu took the opportunity to look from afar, focusing on the Flying Immortal Peak master who had planned it all.

His hair was red, his face aged. Though his aura was somewhat unsteady, it was still far stronger than that of the white-haired elder from the Night Patrol Division. Looking closely, Wen Jiu could see the pallor in his face. He seemed not to have recovered from serious injuries.

But Wen Jiu thought—

There was a good chance it was an act.

After all, the corpse from before had been fake.

Wen Jiu then glanced at the seven people below the peak master. They were clearly the peak masters of Flying Immortal Peak's various branches.

The Monster Slaying Division, Demon Suppressing Division, Night Patrol Division, and the rest.

All seven peak masters had powerful auras. Even without probing them with Spiritual Sense, Wen Jiu could tell their cultivation levels.

Qi Refining Fifth Layer!

Every one of them was an old man.

The two female cultivators seemed to be the youngest, looking only a little over thirty, but Wen Jiu wasn't convinced. He had heard about Youth Preserving Pills from an old cultivator at the trade market.

"No wonder the Unorthodox Path is looked down on... This is probably one reason." Wen Jiu thought to himself.

Others labored half their lives.

Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

Yet the Unorthodox Path could reach Qi Refining Second Layer in two months.

Who could stand for that?

Finally, Wen Jiu's gaze fell on the twenty-one Flying Immortal Peak stewards, including Mu Canglong, and the eighty managers. He hadn't met most of them, but he hadn't expected there to be so many.

One Flying Immortal Peak already had this many.

How many people must there be across all of Corpse Peak?

And how powerful must the Blood Robe Tower have been, to once rival them?

After taking it all in.

The flying boats rose into the sky.

The instant they took off, a gigantic formation suddenly activated, covering all of Flying Immortal Peak.

Then, amid the formation's hum aboard the flying boats, they sped up into the sea of clouds.

Into the sea of clouds.

Over the forests.

In just a moment, Flying Immortal Peak had shrunk to the size of a fist.

However.

Just as Wen Jiu was about to admire the scenery, he realized he was the one being admired like a sight to behold.

The Black Zombie beside him was impossible to miss. Though it was covered with cloth, its sinister hand hanging below was plain to see.

"Is that Wen Jiu, the Night Patrol Division Apprentice Disciple who cultivates the Unorthodox Path?"

"He has the Night Wind Art of the Night Patrol Division available to him, yet he practices the Corpse Raising Method from Yinzhou instead. I just don't understand it."

"Those who seek quick gains all love the Unorthodox Path. If not for its methods, could he have become the only gravedigger in fifty years to kill an enemy and earn a promotion? But the Unorthodox Path's arts all shorten one's life. Even if they make you stronger, it's only a flash in the pan... Immortal cultivation is about building a long and steady foundation."

Listening to the disciples' comments.

Wen Jiu shook his head helplessly.

He simply turned away and quietly admired the scenery below.

As long as no one came over to pick a fight for no reason, they could gossip all they wanted.

But just then, Wang Nian leaped down from the Ancient Tower at the back of the flying boat and walked toward Wen Jiu. He had heard them speaking ill of Wen Jiu and worried that he wouldn't be able to take it.

"Brother Wen, come over here!"

Wang Nian called out.

Two or three hundred people turned to look.

But Wang Nian didn't care.

He called again, "Brother Wen, hurry up! What's so interesting about standing there alone, looking at the scenery?"

Wen Jiu gave a dry laugh and walked over with the Black Zombie.

Wang Nian's actions had certainly made him stand out even more.

But they had made the people gossiping behind his back shut their mouths.

They had also drawn plenty of envious looks.

Who was Wang Nian?

A member of the Wang Family.

There were countless people who wanted to curry favor with him and couldn't.

"I didn't know he had a connection like that with Manager Wang," someone in the crowd muttered.

As for Wen Jiu, he followed Wang Nian up to the Ancient Tower. Together they stood beside the corridor railing and looked down toward the front of the flying boat.

Two or three hundred disciples were all in view.

Gradually.

As the flying boat moved forward, Wen Jiu saw the anticipation in the disciples' eyes, along with their fervor.

Wang Nian lowered his voice. "Can't understand why they're so excited? It's not just about revenge and restoring Flying Immortal Peak's pride. It's about making a fortune, too. Flying Immortal Peak has a rule: you don't have to hand over the spoils you collect."

"No wonder."

Wen Jiu understood.

As expected.

Only profit could make people forget about life and death.

Wen Jiu had wondered about it before. They were all so eager for revenge, so determined to settle the score. Did they really feel that strong a sense of belonging to the sect?

It made sense if some of them felt that way.

But all of them? That was ridiculous.

"When the time comes, charge in and fight alongside me. I'll kill them, and you can loot the corpses!" Wang Nian said excitedly.

Wen Jiu quickly shook his head. "No, thanks. I'm only at Qi Refining Second Layer... I'm afraid I'll hold you back and distract you."

You've got to be kidding.

You're at Qi Refining Third Layer.

The enemies are at Qi Refining Third Layer too.

What's a Qi Refining Second Layer like me going to do, tagging along?

"You brat, what are you afraid of? Risk brings high rewards. If we kill a Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator, it'll be worth several years of my hard work... for you, it'll be worth ten or even eight years of pay from the Night Patrol Division!"

Wang Nian looked as if he was exasperated by Wen Jiu's lack of ambition.

That kid hadn't hesitated to kill the spy that night.

Why was he backing down now, when there was a fortune to be made?

"Still, no."

Wen Jiu shook his head again.

Seeing that, Wang Nian said no more.

After all, you couldn't force someone who wasn't willing.

Soon.

The flying boat suddenly changed direction.

It began diving downward, and an endless stretch of Red Maple Forest instantly came into view.

In the Red Maple Forest.

There was also a sizable cultivation family.

"The Chen Family of Red Maple Forest!" Wang Nian exclaimed in surprise as he watched the flying boat dive toward it. He seemed unable to believe it. "Why would the Blood Robe Tower remnants be here? The Chen Family belonged to the previous peak master."

As far as he remembered, the Chen Family had always been Flying Immortal Peak's most loyal vassal.

Ever since the previous peak master had died at the hands of the Blood Robe Tower, the family had fallen into decline. They should have hated the Blood Robe Tower.

How had they gotten involved with its remnants?

Just then.

The peak master aboard the other flying boat suddenly spoke.

"The Blood Robe Tower remnants are hiding in the Chen Family... The Chen Family has colluded with the Blood Robe Tower and harmed our Flying Immortal Peak disciples. Kill one member of the Chen Family, and you'll be rewarded with twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones! Kill one Blood Robe Tower remnant, and you'll get a hundred!"