Taichu and Natural Hall Forge a Fine Bond

"I'm not even afraid of severe punishment for killing someone. Why would I be afraid of people laughing at me? Our grudges have nothing to do with you. I advise you to mind your own business!"

"Senior Brother, I'll say it one more time. The person we follow is Zhang Kuang, the Supreme Purple Seed. Meddling like this is absolutely not a wise move. The road of cultivation is long. Before doing anything, it's best to think it through."

The middle-aged man smiled. "I, Pu Hanzhong, know only the rules of the Taichu Sect. Even the Sect Master True Lord must abide by them. I truly did not know that a Purple Seed could stand above sect rules. Even if the Sect Master True Lord were here, I would still say the same."

"Pu Hanzhong? We've never heard that name. Who is your master?"

"How could I casually mention my master's honored name to the likes of you? I come from Natural Hall. My master is the Hall Master of Natural Hall!"

The moment Pu Hanzhong spoke, the two Immortal Seedling Realm Sixth Leaf disciples looked at each other. Then mocking, teasing smiles appeared on their faces. "The legendary fifth hall of Taichu? Natural Hall? Heh, what an illustrious master and outstanding disciple indeed. Hurry up and roll aside, lest Junior Brother Zhang become Sect Master one day and truly remove your Natural Hall from the Five Great Halls."

"Natural Hall dares to put on airs too? Since when did you dare stick your noses into others' business? Go back and raise the cultivation of your own hall's disciples first! Heh heh."

Hearing their conversation, Qin Haoxuan found many doubts arising in his heart.

He had only ever heard that the Taichu Sect possessed four great halls. He had never heard of a fifth hall called Natural Hall.

Yet the people of this Natural Hall appeared far more righteous than those of the other four halls. Pu Hanzhong's willingness to step forward and save him alone, compared to the cold indifference of the other imprisoned disciples, made that plain enough.

When Pu Hanzhong announced his origins and said he was from Natural Hall, not only did the two people who had tried to assassinate Qin Haoxuan laugh disdainfully, even the others who did not dare approach Pu Hanzhong wore faint sneers at the corners of their lips, as though they deeply despised his background.

In truth, aside from the four great halls, the Taichu Sect did indeed have a fifth hall. It was merely that the fifth hall's Hall Master was far too weak—so weak that his personal cultivation was not even stronger than the direct disciples of the four great Hall Masters.

Thus, this branch was not entirely invisible within Taichu, but it was not far from it.

Because Natural Hall as a whole was so weak, it received the smallest and poorest share whenever resources were distributed. After years of such a vicious cycle, Natural Hall grew ever poorer and weaker, until many people gradually forgot it altogether.

In the eyes of others, Natural Hall's Hall Master, Xuanjizi, only held seniority. Within the Taichu Sect, however, his words carried less weight than the direct disciples of the other four great Hall Masters. Only a few days after he entered the sect, Natural Hall's old Hall Master, Xu Daozi, had been nearing the end of his lifespan. Left with no choice, Xu Daozi went out in search of an opportunity to extend his life or achieve a breakthrough, hurriedly passing the position of Hall Master to Xuanjizi. In the blink of an eye, a hundred years had passed. The old Hall Master Xu Daozi had never returned, and he had likely exhausted his lifespan and died.

Though Natural Hall was weak, its disciples were very united. There were only a few above the Immortal Seedling Realm Tenth Leaf; the other several hundred were all weak seeds who had only just sprouted. Pu Hanzhong was one of Natural Hall's two strongest disciples, having cultivated to the Tenth Leaf. Another somewhat famous disciple was their eldest senior brother, Hua Shanxuan, who was seventy years old and had cultivated to the Immortal Seedling Realm Fifteenth Leaf. As for Hall Master Xuanjizi, he had yet to break through to the Immortal Tree Realm.

After the two Immortal Seedling Realm Sixth Leaf disciples who had tried to assassinate Qin Haoxuan finished laughing, they wiped the smiles from their faces and stiffened their expressions. Staring directly at Pu Hanzhong with contempt written all over their faces, they said, "Senior Brother Pu, if you know what's good for you, you'd better step aside. The Purple Seed Zhang Kuang is not someone you or your Natural Hall can afford to offend. If you anger Zhang Kuang, then with the strength of your Natural Hall... heh... once Zhang Kuang's cultivation reaches greatness in a few years, he will surely pull your Natural Hall out by the roots! Even your Hall Master won't be able to stop him!"

Pu Hanzhong's expression remained calm from beginning to end. His cultivation was not high, but his bearing was anything but lacking. "Natural Hall has Natural Hall's destiny, and Taichu has Taichu's rules. Zhang Kuang is still young and has yet to see how vast heaven and earth truly are! Once he grasps the mysteries of immortality, do you think he will still have the mind to care about things you believe are important now? Frogs at the bottom of a well!"

The two Sixth Leaf disciples felt somewhat uneasy. They had no idea what the sect elders sitting high atop the mountain were thinking. Yet their current thoughts had long since become completely different from those of ordinary folk before entering the sect. If Zhang Kuang truly grew along with his cultivation...

"You two are corrupting the Purple Seed's character in order to curry favor with him! If the Sect Master learned of this, do you think he would punish the Purple Seed—or punish you? Have you forgotten that you yourselves are weak seeds? Have you forgotten Taichu's sect rules, that all disciples of Taichu share the same origin and make no distinction between inside and outside? If you kill each other over this, can the Purple Seed protect you?"

The two Sixth Leaf disciples felt their scalps go numb, panic rising in their hearts again and again. All their previous confidence vanished without a trace. Yet they had already mounted the tiger and could not dismount! Were they really supposed to admit defeat just like this? How would they explain it to Li Jing after leaving? Li Jing appeared humble and courteous toward worthy men, but his scheme of shifting blame showed that he was a hundred times more vicious than Zhang Kuang!

"Senior Brother Pu... we have our difficulties too..."

The two Sixth Leaf disciples spoke softly in unison. They clasped their fists and bowed, lowering themselves as much as possible. They wanted to find a solution; at the very least, they wanted Pu Hanzhong to lower his guard so they could attack Qin Haoxuan again. As for what came later... if Li Jing refused to help them, they would expose him. Let them see who would still work for him afterward! To ensure that others would continue working for him, Li Jing would have to protect them.

The two men had very similar thoughts. Their attention was fixed on Pu Hanzhong, and they relaxed their vigilance toward Qin Haoxuan. Yet at that very moment, the ever-silent Qin Haoxuan suddenly sprang into action.

Qin Haoxuan moved with astonishing speed. He had been gathering strength for a long, long time, waiting precisely for their vigilance to slacken. But ever since entering this place, the two had never lowered their guard around him—until... now!

With the two men unprepared, Qin Haoxuan, who had been poised to strike for so long, charged with savage force! He became a leopard beyond anyone's expectations in the room. With a single leap, he slammed viciously into one man's lower abdomen. The powerful impact sent the man flying backward, the bones around his chest cracking incessantly as a mouthful of hot blood burst from his throat.

Qin Haoxuan rammed one man flying, while the fist he had drawn back behind him swung fiercely into the other man's face!

Crack! A crisp sound of breaking bone rang out, making everyone's scalps tingle. The man who took the punch had his nose bridge shattered, blood streaming without end as pain nearly made him faint.

Breaking bones? Beating someone's bones until they broke? Qin Haoxuan had already become thoroughly familiar with such things back in Datian Town with Zhang Kuang, and after coming to Taichu, he had received plenty of "helpful" training from his senior brothers. By now, he had reached the point of perfection. This senior brother instantly experienced the results of everyone's hard work training Qin Haoxuan in fighting.

The next moment, just as when Gu Xiaoyun had been beaten, Qin Haoxuan unleashed a flurry of ruthless punches, targeting only the man's vital spots. Qin Haoxuan understood his senior brothers' ability to endure blows like the back of his hand. Though they were cultivators, their current cultivation was still weak, and spiritual power could not refine their entire bodies into copper skin and iron bones. As long as he gave them no chance to protect themselves with spiritual power, they were no different from ordinary people.

The other man lay on the ground, vomiting blood as he watched his companion being beaten. Qin Haoxuan's ferocity left him so stunned that he could not recover for quite some time. By the time he came back to himself, Qin Haoxuan had already finished dealing with his partner, dusted off his hands, and ducked behind Pu Hanzhong. For some time to come, the two of them would not merely be unable to deal with Qin Haoxuan—they would not even be able to turn themselves over.

Though the two truly looked down on Pu Hanzhong's origins, he was still an Immortal Seedling Realm Tenth Leaf disciple. If they rashly stepped forward to capture Qin Haoxuan, they certainly would not get past him. More importantly... now that they were injured, it was already good fortune that Qin Haoxuan did not come looking for more trouble!

While guarding against another sneak attack from Qin Haoxuan, the two men also sent spiritual power into their companion's body, lest his severe injuries allow the cold air of the Nine Yin Ice Cave to freeze him to death.

Pu Hanzhong stared at Qin Haoxuan in amazement. This fellow who had only just Rooted had actually charged forward without fear of death and injured an Immortal Seedling Realm Sixth Leaf cultivator. Was he even human?

If either of those two had reacted in time just now, a single spiritual technique could have severely wounded or killed him.

Had it been anyone else, facing two Immortal Seedling Realm Sixth Leaf cultivators so much stronger than himself, they would have long since trembled and waited helplessly for death. If someone had stepped forward to shelter them, they would surely have hidden behind their protector without daring to make a sound. But this fellow simply did not care about his life! He had actually charged forward to beat them, striking ruthlessly and accurately, and had truly crippled one of them.

"Young man, sit beside me. Don't be so impulsive again!" Pu Hanzhong kindly called Qin Haoxuan to his side. Although it had been self-defense, it would still be troublesome if he went overboard and truly beat someone to death. Qin Haoxuan was also happy to find himself a powerful backer. Within this Nine Yin Ice Cave, Pu Hanzhong's Immortal Seedling Realm Tenth Leaf cultivation was more than enough to protect him.

"Senior Brother Pu, I am Qin Haoxuan, newly admitted into our Taichu Sect. Thank you for saving my life." Looking at Pu Hanzhong's kind face, Qin Haoxuan clasped his fists and bowed deeply in thanks.

Pu Hanzhong smiled honestly and said in a calm tone, "It was nothing. My master often teaches us to treat others with kindness. Today, I happened to be here and lent a hand. I suppose it means you and I were fated to meet."