Chapter twenty-two: There are no rights for Qi Refining cultivators, Bai Qiuran replied, "Hmph. Kill the Crown Prince, then sit back and watch the Princes fight over the throne. At the last moment, step in and support a puppet's rise to power. And then they'll control Dingguo? From a mortal's point of view, it's a decent plan. But they've misunderstood what matters most in the Cultivation World, and they've chosen the wrong people to frame."
Pei Yuan's face showed a pang of regret. "We're on the water here. He's a fire cultivator, and I have a Water Spirit Root. Fighting me here would be like bringing disaster upon himself."
"But we can't just leave this alone. If Cuiluo goes on a rampage, the human and demon races will probably clash again. I have to stop her."
Thanks to her diligent practice of the Fortune Body Forging Technique, Tang Ruowei was even stronger physically than Zuo Yanfei, who had come from the Divine Martial Heavenly Army and specialized in close-quarters combat. The foundation Bai Qiuran had forced her to build had paid off immensely, and her True Essence was far more abundant than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"You're in such a hurry to get rid of me. Got something to do?"
"All right."
"I'm just checking up on you."
Zuo Yanfei felt a little embarrassed under her gaze and said softly, "That fire cultivator has already left Baiyuan City. We should hurry and catch up."
Zuo Yanfei's eyelid twitched when she heard that. She asked, "By the way, what was that last sword strike of yours? I've never heard of a move like that in the Qingming Sword Technique. And what element was that black light...?"
"You're amazing, Sister."
Zuo Yanfei scratched her cheek, looking bashful. "The village I grew up in was threatened by a Yao Mo in the mountains before I was born. It called itself the mountain god and demanded that we offer up living people. My mother was even chosen as a sacrifice. But then an Immortal with white hair and white eyebrows from the Azure Nether Sword Sect slew the Yao Mo and saved our village. My parents and grandfather told me that story when I was little, so I've always admired him."
"Truly worthy of a disciple of the Azure Nether Sword Sect."
Bai Qiuran glanced at Su Xiangxue.
"This..." Tang Ruowei's expression turned complicated.
The leading male cultivator took the corpse of Pei Shan, whom Tang Ruowei had killed.
"The master of Baiyue Temple believed that controlling a great nation would let the sect develop quickly."
Zuo Yanfei retrieved her spear and asked Tang Ruowei.
Tang Ruowei thought for a moment, then said, "No matter whether it's my swordsmanship or my escape technique, you always say, 'Truly worthy of a disciple of the Azure Nether Sword Sect.' Could it be that you really like our sect?"
Tang Ruowei looked at the charred floor nearby.
"It's a new sect. It hasn't even joined the Righteous Path Alliance, so of course you haven't heard of it."
"Are you leaving?"
Seeing how recklessly he was acting, Su Xiangxue felt another wave of helplessness.
"Go find your disciple, already!"
A moment later, after confirming the cultivators wouldn't return, two figures suddenly emerged from the ground on the mountainside.
In the courtyard of the Joyful Realm, Bai Qiuran asked curiously, "What sect is this? I've never heard of one like it in Cangzhou."
"If you're leaving, then leave. I won't see you out!"
The fire cultivator called Pei Yuan said miserably, "We failed. It wasn't mortals investigating the case this time. Those two female cultivators were a real handful, and Pei Shan was killed after making a mistake."
"They're both Foundation Establishment cultivators. There's no way they can catch up to me."
As she spoke, Zuo Yanfei shook her head.
"It's nothing."
"Your progress with Phantom Traces is a little slow for a Demonic Cultivator. Haven't you been replenishing your essence lately?"
"Sister Yanfei is amazing."
Bai Qiuran stood at the entrance, staring at the tightly shut courtyard gate, and rubbed his nose.
"You see? My junior brother has white hair and white eyebrows too..."
A hundred li from Dingguo's capital, atop a mountain, a cloud of fire descended from the sky and transformed into the fire cultivator. He had someone slung over his shoulder, and landed on the mountain.
Tang Ruowei shook her head.
Bai Qiuran grinned.
"That's right! I'm going out to find men to replenish my essence!"
"It's fine. Even though we can't track them anymore, I planted something on that fire cultivator while we were fighting."
Zuo Yanfei asked Su Xiangxue.
"No, I flew all the way here from Dingguo's capital, taking Qi-restoring pills the whole way."
"Senior Brother Pei Qing."
Tang Ruowei's eyes shone as she praised him.
Bai Qiuran stood at the door, gazing at the closed courtyard gate, and rubbed his nose.
"Have you been all right, Ruowei?"
"Southern Dingguo."
"This is a famous site in southern Dingguo. When the previous emperor returned victorious from an expedition, he was so pleased with himself that he had a statue of himself built here."
"Unfortunately."
Zuo Yanfei paused, then hurriedly added, "Ah, sorry. You and I are from different sects. I was only curious when I asked. I didn't mean anything by it. You don't have to tell me."
"You're so touchy. I don't believe you've never replenished your essence..."
The male cultivator who had asked the question immediately grew wary. "You weren't followed, were you?"
"That strand of hair was destroyed too. If it were still intact, we might have been able to track down its owner."
"Baiyue Temple?"
Su Xiangxue added, "But they don't realize that, in the Cultivation World, what matters most is still the strength of your fists. A few Golden Core juniors think they can swallow up the resources of an entire nation. Never mind whether they can pull it off; even if they do, how could the other sects in Cangzhou just stand by? Any one of them could send out a Nascent Soul cultivator and reduce Baiyue Temple to ruins."
"I heard something good."
Bai Qiuran lazily got to his feet.
"This sect is based on Baiyue Mountain in Dingguo. It has a few Golden Core cultivators, just enough to qualify as a sect. What's interesting is that our Hehuan Sect's intelligence network found out that the Second Prince and Third Prince of Dingguo visited Baiyue Temple together a month ago to discuss something important with its master."
"No wonder. I told Qingming disciples not to worry about anything else and to focus on cultivating and becoming stronger."
"I don't know how to explain it. I really wanted to join the Azure Nether Sword Sect back then, but my home was just too far from Guzhou, so I could only join the Divine Martial Heavenly Army nearby."
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