A different way of thinking.
Since this Sword Child Su Yang had managed to achieve Perfect Foundation Establishment at the age of sixteen without even joining a sect,
just how powerful was his talent?
If he received the full support of a sect's resources, might he not have a slim chance of catching up to Venerable Moon Sword?
This was a figure who appeared only once every hundred thousand years in the sect.
Several Nascent Soul True Lords were still reeling from Su Yang's talent.
But True Monarch Mingyang suddenly said, "Sect Master, since that Sword Child has yet to formally join the sect, I propose that he follow the Heavenly Sword Record's recommendation and join my Sun Sword Peak. Wouldn't that be ideal?"
This old sixth actually tried to steal the prize!
The True Lords cursed inwardly in unison, then hurriedly began speaking.
The Tianjian Peak Master, who had previously remained as steady as Mount Tai, was the first to speak.
"You can't put it that way. Is the Heavenly Sword Record's recommendation necessarily accurate? If the Heavenly Sword Record truly knew all and could do all, why would we have established a disciple selection system? Wouldn't relying entirely on the Heavenly Sword Record be enough?"
The Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall followed along.
"Exactly. The Tianjian Peak Master is right. If the Heavenly Sword Record could truly identify Su Yang's talent completely, it should not have initially issued a True Disciple Token, but a Reserve Sword Child Token. Someone among us should have been alerted long ago as well."
"Thinking it over carefully, you two have a point. Sword Child Su Yang's true talent still needs to be examined in detail."
True Monarch Mingyang of Sun Sword Peak seemed to have changed his stance as well.
Yet suddenly, his tone shifted, and he continued, "I have decided to set out personally at once and bring Sword Child Su Yang back. While we are on the road, I can properly examine his talent."
Damn it, old sixth was indeed old sixth. Don't expect him to suddenly see the light.
The True Lords continued cursing inwardly.
They were about to refute True Monarch Mingyang again.
At that moment, Venerable Moon Sword spoke.
"Su Yang truly must be brought back as soon as possible. Since he has already become a Sword Child, we cannot let him travel here on his own like an ordinary True Disciple. If an accident occurs on the road, it would be an enormous loss for our Tianjian Sect."
"As for the candidate..."
Venerable Moon Sword swept his gaze around.
"Let True Monarch Mingyang make the trip himself!"
As soon as those words fell, a smile immediately blossomed across True Monarch Mingyang's refined face.
The remaining True Lords could not conceal their disappointment.
A Sword Child from some backwater place had never seen much of the world.
He would surely be sweet-talked all the way here by that old sixth, True Monarch Mingyang.
Trying to win him over afterward would be difficult indeed!
"Sect Master, I'll be leaving now."
After giving his greeting, True Monarch Mingyang summoned a wisp of spiritual light from the Heavenly Sword Record, and his figure immediately vanished from where he stood.
The Heavenly Sword Record's spiritual light could sense and locate the position of any Tianjian Sect token at inner sect rank or above.
Finding Su Yang would be as easy as turning over one's hand.
At this time.
Qingye Market Town.
At the edge of the residential district.
Many jujube trees stood in neat rows behind a house.
Inside the house, more than a dozen men came and went, constantly turning chests and cabinets upside down.
"This brat wouldn't even let us have some peace after dying. Where the hell did he hide his spirit stones? We searched the entire house, and everything valuable put together is worth less than three spirit stones."
"That's not right. We only found a dozen or so spirit stones on the brat's corpse just now. Even adding this place, it is worth at most twenty spirit stones."
"But based on the value of the spirit herbs this brat gathered over the years, after deducting the cut, it should have been worth at least sixty-odd spirit stones."
"Fuck, then where did all those spirit stones go? Could that brat have secretly spent them?"
"A young punk like him can't hold himself together when there is even the slightest temptation from the outside world. Maybe he really squandered them all."
"Impossible. During the day, he went gathering herbs and selling herbs with me most of the time. Once he returned at night, he never went out again. Instead, he would fiddle with books on common knowledge about cultivating immortality.
"All he ever wanted was to save enough spirit stones to test his spiritual roots and become one of those lofty immortal cultivators! Where would he have found the chance to spend his spirit stones?" said a somewhat plump middle-aged man.
He was Old Wang.
"Wang Changfu, then tell us where that brat hid his spirit stones. You know his situation so well. Don't tell me you secretly took them?"
"Don't spit blood at people! That brat was dead, and you were the one who searched him, weren't you? Maybe you hid most of the spirit stones when you were collecting his corpse!" Old Wang snapped angrily.
"You..." The other man grew angry as well.
"Stop arguing. I know both of you. Your guts are smaller than a mouse's. Neither of you would dare hide spirit stones for yourselves."
A young man sitting motionlessly in a chair spoke up to stop them.
"Thank you for your clear judgment, sir!"
"Keep searching. If we truly cannot find them, then the Medicine Gang can only count this as a loss," the young man sighed.
Although they had gained twenty spirit stones this time, equivalent to one or two years of income for an ordinary herb gatherer, failing to earn what they had expected was still a loss!
They had already lost sixty spirit stones by using spirit herbs to lure a Huaye Sect disciple into killing Su Yang, and now they had missed out on another forty spirit stones.
That made a full hundred spirit stones. They had been bled dry!
The dozen or so men resumed their searching.
Suddenly, the courtyard gate creaked open, and a figure entered from outside.
"That brat belonged to our Medicine Gang. Since he's dead, his inheritance should belong to our Medicine Gang too. Anyone who came here to mooch off us can get lost!"
Old Wang had not even fully raised his head when the words had already flown from his mouth.
But when he fully lifted his head.
He froze on the spot.
Only after several breaths did he finally scream.
"Ghost, ghost, ghost!"
"Wang Changfu, you dumb bastard, what are you screaming about? This is Qingye Market Town, a market town guarded by a great Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator. What ghost would dare come here!"
The man who had just argued with Old Wang was already nursing some lingering anger. Hearing Old Wang scream now gave him quite a fright.
His fury could no longer be held down, and he immediately began cursing loudly.
But when he clearly saw the figure that had entered the courtyard, he fared even worse than Old Wang. Frightened out of his wits, he collapsed onto the ground on his backside.
How could he not recognize that figure?
Half a day ago, he had personally stripped that brat of his spirit stones and sealed him inside a coffin!
"Su... Su Yang, I wasn't the one who harmed you. On the contrary, I personally put you into the coffin so you could rest in peace. As for searching your body, that was also ordered by the higher-ups. I... I couldn't refuse!"
Su Yang's gaze landed on the man.
So you had a hand in sealing that coffin so tightly!
The others' attention was completely drawn over as well.
Whether they knew Su Yang or not, all of them stumbled backward in terror, wishing they could burrow straight into the ground.
This was a ghost, one of those evil entities—a terrifying existence only immortal cultivators could deal with.
"Stop backing up. You're practically crushing me!"
The young man seated in the chair became angry. He kicked one of the Medicine Gang members aside, then immediately said, "The person before us has abundant vitality and a ruddy complexion. How is he a ghost? He is clearly a living man."
"But I personally put this brat into the coffin. His corpse was already cold at the time!"
"There are countless strange things in this world. The brat may have fallen into a state of suspended death at the time," the young man explained.
"Suspended death?"
The others carefully examined Su Yang at the door and discovered that he truly did not have the ghostly, sinister, wind-chilling appearance of an evil entity.
Instead, he brimmed with vivid life, exactly like a living person.
"Damn it, a brat who got lucky and didn't die actually dared to pretend to be a ghost and scare me. His dog guts have truly reached the heavens."
Before you continue