Turbid Canon Mystic Cultivators

Turbid Canon Mystic Cultivators

"Another Profound Residence? What do you mean?"

Wen De froze. Wasn't there only one Profound Residence? Could there be another?

Cai Weng drew a breath. Staring ahead, his gaze was deeply conflicted, and his voice drifted faintly. "Most of them are people who defected from the Profound Residence. What they cultivate is... the Great Dao Unified Text!"

"The Great Dao Unified Text?"

The Wen brothers exchanged a glance, and their eyes turned instinctively wary as they looked at the newcomers.

Naturally, they knew of the Great Dao Unified Text. They also knew that those who practiced this Seal Method were enemies of those who cultivated the Great Dao Profound Chapter—in other words, enemies of the Profound Residence. But that was all. The Upper Layer of the Profound Residence had always treated news of the Turbid Canon as taboo and never spoke of it willingly.

Zhang Yu's face was hidden beneath his hood, appearing quite indistinct. His gaze shifted slightly as he looked down at the arrivals from above. Other than himself, this was the first time he had seen people cultivating the Great Dao Unified Text.

Xiang Chun had said that only a few such people remained within the Protectorate Office's territory and that there was no need to pay them any mind. Yet judging by the scene before him, reality clearly wasn't as Xiang Chun had claimed.

The five strode leisurely across the rippling water, shrouded in mist, and arrived at the shore. Yet when they stepped onto solid ground, they left not the slightest wet mark beneath their feet. The Other God Cult followers who had retreated to the riverbank all bowed and made way for them.

A handsome young man stepped out from among the five. Looking toward the camp above, he spotted Cai Weng standing at the front with a single glance. "Cai Weng? Senior Brother Cai." A smile of unclear meaning appeared on his face. "We meet again."

Then his gaze shifted past Cai Weng to the Wen brothers and Zhang Yu. "You're disciples of the Profound Residence too, aren't you? The Profound Residence really isn't a good place. It shuts itself away and only rigidly passes down the Seal Methods of those who came before. Why not come to us instead?"

He extended a hand in invitation. "Come to us, and whatever secret arts you want, we can give you. We even have a way for you to evade the Mystic Mechanism Binding and directly read the next chapter."

Wen Guo and Wen De couldn't help feeling tempted upon hearing this.

Limited by their aptitude, no matter how painstakingly they accumulated Divine Essence, they could at most work upon the first chapter. Though their combat strength was improving, they were still far inferior to those who had read the second chapter. And if they could obtain such a secret art...

"Don't listen to him!"

Cai Weng suddenly shouted.

The Wen brothers shuddered and abruptly came to their senses. They realized that they had nearly been bewitched by the other's words just now, and their gazes toward the handsome young man immediately filled with wariness.

Zhang Yu had heard the man's words as well, but he hadn't reacted at all. Although he had withdrawn the Keen Thought Seal and Vitality Seal, he remained guarded against the all-pervasive invasion of consciousness, so he had kept the Roaring Voice Seal active. In any case, he could sustain this seal for an extremely long time. That was why the other's words had found no opening to exploit.

The handsome young man glanced at Cai Weng, then looked back at the three of them and said meaningfully, "You aren't willing? That's fine. You'll change your minds soon enough." As he spoke, the mist rising behind the five grew thicker and thicker, until even a stretch of river became difficult to see clearly.

Cai Weng stared below. He stepped forward and said without turning his head, "You can't interfere in this battle. Leave. Split up and go! I'll hold them back!"

Zhang Yu gave him a look, then immediately turned and hurried toward where the horses were tethered.

The Wen brothers also retreated without hesitation.

Both of them understood clearly that these five had come prepared. Cai Weng had little chance of victory against five alone. If they stayed, Cai Weng would have to divide his attention to protect them, leaving even less hope. If they weren't there, he might still have a chance to escape.

Cai Weng strode toward the five. At the same time, a dense radiance flashed over the surface of his body.

Boom! Boom!

As if eager to prove themselves, the Other God Cult followers raised a row of firelocks and fired at him. Yet when the shots struck his body, the lead balls fell to the ground one after another, warped out of shape. They couldn't hinder his advance in the slightest.

The young man softly uttered two words. "Meddlesome."

The Other God Cult followers first stiffened. Then, as though bewitched, they reloaded their firelocks and shoved them into their own mouths. Amid a string of thunderous blasts, they fell one after another. Those carrying blades decisively stabbed and hacked at one another without making a single sound. Before long, not one remained standing.

The handsome young man remained where he was. Behind the five, the pale mist had already rolled ashore. As it passed over the corpses, their flesh, blood, and clothing melted together into puddles of rotten sludge. Only the firelocks and small metal objects remained where they had been.

At that moment, the rumble of hooves suddenly rang out, heading in three different directions. The handsome young man raised his head and gestured to the people beside him. "Send a few people after them."

The four behind him discussed it briefly, and three stepped out. But before they had taken more than a few steps, firelock shots suddenly rang out from above the camp, while arrows rained down upon them. The attendants were obstructing their advance.

They were attendants of the Profound Residence, unwaveringly loyal to it. Their foremost duty on this journey was to protect the disciples of the Profound Residence. So long as even one person had yet to leave, they would never retreat even a single step.

The three looked at each other. One of them suddenly shot forward like lightning. Moments later, silence returned to the high ground. Then the three figures split apart and chased after the fleeing horses in different directions.

Cai Weng gave a faint sigh. He continued walking forward and stopped less than two zhang away from the young man.

Neither of them spoke. They merely stared at each other.

After a while, Cai Weng said, "All right, putting on an act is enough. Ying Qu, you can call them back now."

"Putting on an act?" Ying Qu sneered. "Senior Brother Cai, it seems you've misunderstood something."

Cai Weng frowned. "They merely came out with me. They've never had any conflict with you, nor could they possibly expose the matter of my joining you. Can't you spare them?"

"You?"

Ying Qu glanced at him. "Senior Brother Cai, you're calling us 'you' now. We did come out to receive you this time, but we never intended to let the people from the Profound Residence go."

Cai Weng's expression changed slightly. "You can't do this!"

Ying Qu laughed. "Senior Brother Cai, don't you find that rather amusing?"

Cai Weng's expression turned solemn. "I'm not joking. The Wen brothers are old hands of the Profound Residence. They now serve under Senior Brother Xu Ying and are highly valued by him. As for Junior Brother Zhang, even Director Xiang thinks highly of him. This time, I was specifically told to bring him out for training. If you kill him, the Profound Residence absolutely won't let this rest. I imagine that isn't something you wish to see either."

"Oh? So that's how it is."

Ying Qu nodded, a look of understanding appearing on his face. "Senior Brother Cai, when you first left the camp, you actually wanted to encounter us as soon as possible so you wouldn't drag along the people you brought out, right?"

Cai Weng snorted. "This matter had nothing to do with them in the first place."

Ying Qu smiled. "The more Senior Brother Cai acts this way, the more it proves that these people are talents. Then we absolutely can't let them go. Don't worry. So long as they're willing to follow us in cultivating the Dao, we won't make things difficult for them."

Not long after he said this, the man pursuing Wen Guo suddenly flashed back like lightning. He seemed to be holding something in his hand. He threw it onto the ground and said, "Mine's settled."

Cai Weng closed his eyes, unable to bear looking.

Ying Qu frowned. "Junior Brother Quan, settled is settled. There was no need to bring this thing back."

Junior Brother Quan froze, looking slightly aggrieved. "How else was I supposed to prove it?"

Ying Qu was about to say more when he suddenly sensed something amiss. He took a bamboo slip from his sleeve, and the moment he drew it out, half of it snapped off. He glanced at it and said, "So Junior Brother Zhe is dead. Truly useless. It seems Senior Brother Cai was right—the Profound Residence does value you greatly."

At a glance, Cai Weng knew that this person must have been the one pursuing Wen De earlier. He was somewhat surprised. He hadn't known Wen De possessed such strength.

Ying Qu turned his head and looked at a masked woman who had been following at his side. "Go see whether Junior Brother Zhe dealt with that person. If he did, dispose of both corpses, then go check on Junior Brother Zang. When his old problem acts up, he tends to delay things."

The woman silently bowed to him, turned, and hurried away. Wisps of thin smoke rose from her body as she moved faster and faster, soon seeming to float through the air as she vanished into the distance.