Gathering

The Flying Boat was incredibly fast. They said it could cover three thousand miles in an hour, yet once aboard, it was remarkably quiet.

In less than an hour, the Flying Boat landed on a broad stretch of open ground outside Guiping County.

After Yu Xiu and the others disembarked, the ferryman piloting the Flying Boat departed again.

"The Shadow Demon is in Lushui Town, thirty miles outside the county seat." Zhao Zheng checked their direction. "We'll go that way."

"That ferryman could've stopped a little closer," complained the gaunt Ruan Fei.

"It's only thirty miles. We'll be there in no time." Qin Shu smiled, seeming somewhat more at ease.

Once they were away from the Inner Court and outside Wuyang Prefecture, where the Qingwei Sword Sect was based, Yu Xiu could die a hundred times over and nobody would care.

There were people from the Qingwei Sword Sect stationed in the county seat, but who would recognize Yu Xiu?

He glanced instinctively at Yu Xiu and saw him studying the county seat in the distance. As he watched the crowds coming and going, his eyes were full of curiosity.

Take a good look while you can! Qin Shu shook his head inwardly.

This was probably Yu Xiu's last chance to see any land beyond Wuyang Prefecture.

Fang Jiming and the others had already gathered in Lushui Town and had been waiting for Yu Xiu for some time.

When the moment came, Fang Jiming and the others wouldn't even need to act. They only had to leave Yu Xiu alone in front of the Shadow Demon. Fang Jiming and the others wouldn't even need to show themselves; Yu Xiu would die at the demon's hands all by himself.

Everything had been arranged. All that remained was for Yu Xiu to walk into the trap.

They headed east. Though they had no horses or spirit beasts to ride, and didn't bother using movement techniques, they still traveled swiftly. They covered the thirty miles in half an hour.

That was because they had deliberately slowed their pace, afraid Yu Xiu wasn't strong enough to keep up.

Little did they know, with Riding the Wind at his command, Yu Xiu was as light as a feather. Even walking at an ordinary pace, he moved far faster than someone at the Qi Sea Realm running at full speed.

They had slowed down, while Yu Xiu was holding back even when walking normally.

When they reached Lushui Town, they found it strangely deserted. Though it was broad daylight, not a single person was on the road. The place felt desolate.

"Hm? Why can't I sense the Shadow Demon's distinctive demonic aura?" Zhao Zheng looked around and frowned.

Shadow Demons stood out most of all. To cultivators, the demonic aura around them was like a torch blazing in the dark. Yet there was no sign of one in this little town.

"It must be a naturally formed Shadow Demon. Such demons are born in places tainted by the world's yin energy, but they know how to conceal themselves." Qin Shu didn't seem concerned at all. He flipped his hand and produced an object.

It was a translucent bead about the size of a fist, called the Demon-Seeking Bead. It had been specially refined to locate Shadow Demons.

"Let me find it," Qin Shu said.

He poured his true qi into the Demon-Seeking Bead. It glimmered faintly, and wisps of aura appeared in the air, gathering toward it as its range steadily expanded.

Qin Shu strode into the empty town and continued onward. Near the eastern edge, the Demon-Seeking Bead finally reacted, drawing a wisp of pitch-black demonic aura from the air.

The aura had been completely concealed. Without the Demon-Seeking Bead's power, it would have been invisible to the naked eye.

"Found it." Qin Shu's eyes lit up.

The Demon-Seeking Bead glimmered, and the wisp of demonic aura it had just absorbed seemed to turn into a faint black thread, stretching farther and farther east.

"Over there." Zhao Zheng's expression brightened.

At the same time, Zhao Zheng and Ruan Fei exchanged an inconspicuous glance.

"Now that we've found the Shadow Demon's trail, and Senior Brother Qin is here to deal with it, this demon is as good as dead. I'll head to the county office to report to our fellow sect members and hand over the mission. I'll join you shortly," Ruan Fei said.

Once a mission was complete, the local county office had to be notified. The Qingwei Sword Sect members stationed there would then report to the Main Sect, confirm the Shadow Demon had been eliminated, and close the mission. That was the normal procedure; Ruan Fei had simply moved it up.

If you like this book, add it to your bookshelf so you can find it again next time.

Still, it made sense. Qin Shu was already at the Life Spring Realm. Killing a Shadow Demon at the Qi Sea Realm would be as easy as lifting a hand.

"Go ahead." Qin Shu nodded, but as he lowered his head, a burning glint appeared in his eyes.

It was almost time. Once the Shadow Demon killed Yu Xiu, Fang Jiming would deliver the Gan-Gold Herb to him!

His Gold Entanglement Sword would reach great mastery, perhaps even perfection.

The slightly plump Zhang Yun, unusually, took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Yu Xiu. "Brother Yu, since this is your first time going out to slay a demon, would you like to try your hand at it?"

"When we go out to slay demons, we do seek protection from our senior brothers, but our main goal is to hone our demon-slaying skills and temper our swordsmanship. That's how we grow and learn to stand on our own in the future."

Qin Shu's gaze flickered as he smiled. "If Brother Yu is willing to give it a try, I can back you up. It'll be a bit more trouble, but if it helps you grow, it'll be worth it."

"I can back you up too, Brother Yu, and make sure you don't get hurt," Zhao Zheng chimed in.

They can't wait to send me to my death, can they? Yu Xiu understood perfectly, yet he was delighted. "Then I must thank you, Senior Brothers and Senior Sister, for looking after me."

Qin Shu felt reassured. Yu Xiu's time has come.

He led the way, holding the Demon-Seeking Bead. "Follow me."

Ruan Fei had already left ahead of them. Zhao Zheng, Yu Xiu, and Zhang Yun followed closely behind Qin Shu as they continued east.

Meanwhile, after leaving the town, Ruan Fei spotted a special marker. He followed the markers and soon circled around to the south side of town, where he found the people who had been waiting for him.

"Senior Brother Fang, they're here." Ruan Fei cupped his fist in greeting. He was clearly somewhat ill at ease in front of Fang Jiming.

Yu Xiu didn't know this, but Ruan Fei did: Fang Jiming had already broken through the fourth gate of Ascending Dragon, the Life Spring Realm, and entered the first of the Four Great Passes, the Five Viscera Realm. He was a top expert in the Inner Court.

He was only a few impressive achievements away from being promoted to the Main Sect and leaving the Inner Court behind.

There was no one else in the Inner Court stronger than Fang Jiming.

Before that, Fang Jiming had been the leader of the Wind Image Society in the Inner Court, but he had stepped down after being implicated in Fang Jiming's use of unorthodox methods to break through.

Fang Jiming wore white, his pale face almost sickly. With a precious sword on his back, he quietly regarded Ruan Fei, then looked up toward the eastern end of town. His chest rose and fell.

At last... has this day finally come?!

Behind Fang Jiming stood Song Yue, Yuan Shu, and Zhong Yue and Pang Wei, all fellow members of the Wind Image Society. Zhong Yue and Pang Wei were the ones who had threatened Yu Xiu outside the Internal Affairs Hall.

Under normal circumstances, they had no reason to all come here for Yu Xiu, who had only entered the Inner Court about two months ago and was still merely at the first level of the Qi Sea Realm.

But they had waited a full year for this day. How could they not come?

"Yu Xiu gave us hell back then. A year has passed, and today we'll see how he dies!" Pang Wei, tall and broad, sneered.

"He's just a kid at the first level of the Qi Sea Realm. He should consider it an honor that we think so highly of him. He can die without regrets!" Zhong Yue chuckled, inexplicably in a much better mood.

"Let's go. We'll follow and watch Yu Xiu die at the Shadow Demon's hands." Fang Jiming slowly clenched his fist, then released it.

At the eastern edge of town.

Yu Xiu and the others stopped in front of a low thatched hut.

"It's inside."

"Brother Yu, show us your demon-slaying skills." Zhang Yun puffed out her plump cheeks, encouraging him.

"We'll back you up." Zhao Zheng and Qin Shu looked at Yu Xiu in unison. "This is for your own good."

For my own good. Yu Xiu smiled inwardly. "All right."

He strode into the thatched hut and vanished from their sight.