Drawing His Saber to Kill

In the spirit field.

A young man crouched with one hand pressed against the ground.

A saber sheath rested against the back of his hand, a cold gleam visible beside it.

"I-Immortal, spare me."

The young man lowered his head and pleaded.

Hearing this, Jiang Hao remained calm.

"What's your name?"

"In answer to you, Immortal, I-" The instant the young man began speaking, Jiang Hao shifted the saber's hilt.

A flash of steel appeared, severing the man's arm with the force of a thunderbolt.

The sudden attack stunned the young man, and he glared at Jiang Hao with hatred.

At the same time, he began retreating.

"Do it!" he shouted.

Jiang Hao thrust the saber's hilt into the soil and flicked the object buried there high into the air.

Boom!

An explosion rang out overhead, frightening the others into scattering for cover.

Jiang Hao did not stop. Half-Moon slid free of its sheath.

He swiftly reached the men and women who were about to act.

His long saber swept past, killing them on the spot.

There were four in total, and Jiang Hao killed the first three as quickly as he could.

By the time he reached the last one, the man had already activated the Magical Treasure in his hand.

Seeing this, Jiang Hao swung Half-Moon, and moonlight emerged.

Heavenly Saber Moon-Cleaving.

Bang!

The saber's shadow tore across the sky like the shadow of the moon, cleaving the man's hand and Magical Treasure in two with a single stroke.

The man stared at Jiang Hao with a savage expression.

Black energy emerged from his body and began attacking the person before him.

However, Jiang Hao had already reached his side, his saber pressed against the man's neck.

Slash!

The man fell at the sound.

Jiang Hao then turned toward the first man, who had retreated. The man stared at him, hesitated, and began making his way outside.

But how could someone merely at Qi Refining outrun someone at Foundation Establishment?

Jiang Hao appeared beside him in the blink of an eye and struck his temple with the saber's hilt.

There was a thud.

The man passed out.

Only after finishing all this did Jiang Hao turn toward Cheng Chou nearby.

"Go get someone."

Cheng Chou knew whom he should call and immediately ran outside.

Rabbit, who had been watching the spectacle, trembled with fright.

For the moment, he did not dare enter the spirit field.

With his intelligence still undeveloped, he thought entering the spirit field might get him cut down.

Jiang Hao paid no attention to anything else and instead instructed the others.

"Keep working. Stay away from the damaged part of the spirit field for now."

Because he had been a step too late, the spirit field had suffered some damage. Fortunately, the impact was minor.

He had noticed these people as soon as he arrived and initially thought someone had come to cause him trouble again.

But a closer look revealed little power in them, while the object buried in the soil gave off spiritual energy fluctuations.

Only then did he realize it was a Magical Treasure.

These people were not targeting him. They had come to blow up the spirit field.

Had they succeeded, Heartbreak Cliff would have suffered considerable losses.

After a moment's hesitation, he chose to use appraisal.

[Puppet Armor: A puppet seed was planted in him during childhood by Yan Hua of the Heavenly Saint Church, gradually replacing him. This time, his purpose was to destroy the Heavenly Sound Sect's spirit medicine fields in an attempt to help Azure Heaven Mountain invade the Heavenly Sound Sect.]

Yan Hua of the Heavenly Saint Church?

Jiang Hao had never heard of this person, but the members of the Heavenly Saint Church truly were dangerous.

Was this a piece they had placed on the board ten years ago?

Especially when planted among ordinary people or Qi Refining disciples.

There was simply no guarding against them all.

If Jiang Hao had not appraised himself last time, he would have wondered whether he, too, carried such a puppet seed.

This showed that the Heavenly Saint Church knew about the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower and wanted someone else to be the bird that stuck its head out first.

They were doing their small part to help Azure Heaven Mountain.

If this was a puppet, there was little point in taking him alive.

A short while later.

Mu Qi arrived at the scene. He looked at the spirit field, then at the man on the ground, and could not help letting out a sigh of relief.

"We have you to thank this time, Junior Brother. I heard the Spirit Medicine Gardens elsewhere suffered considerable damage. Fortunately, ours is safe." Mu Qi addressed Jiang Hao with relief and courtesy.

"I'll report everything truthfully to Master. We'll be relying on you going forward as well, Junior Brother."

"You're too kind, Senior Brother." Jiang Hao lowered his head, adopting a humble stance.

Mu Qi was a True Disciple.

Jiang Hao had met him a few times. His cultivation was probably no lower than Liu Xingchen's.

Jiang Hao had always felt that he was not someone to provoke, so he avoided him whenever possible.

Being in a Demonic Sect did not necessarily mean there was no affection between fellow disciples.

But there was certainly none between him and a True Disciple like Mu Qi.

He needed a clear understanding of his own position. Those who deserved respect had to be respected, and he could not show mercy to those he needed to strike.

Afterward, Mu Qi took Puppet Armor away, saying he would inform Jiang Hao if he discovered anything. For now, he had matters at the Mining Grounds to attend to and had no time to linger.

Jiang Hao nodded and let his senior brother attend to his own affairs.

"Did something happen at the Mining Grounds too?"

Watching Mu Qi leave, Jiang Hao murmured in puzzlement.

He felt that the Heavenly Sound Sect had been far from peaceful lately. He needed to prepare for its defenses to be breached.

Otherwise, he would be left far too much at others' mercy when the time came.

But...

Could I really extricate myself and leave while raising the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower?

He kept feeling that many people would set their sights on him immediately.

Afterward, the Spirit Medicine Garden stopped allowing outsiders in to help, and no further surprise attacks occurred.

The other Spirit Medicine Gardens had indeed suffered considerable damage, placing much of the burden on Heartbreak Cliff.

The amount of spirit medicine they needed to supply suddenly increased.

Three weeks passed like this.

Jiang Hao worked from morning until night.

At last, the other Spirit Medicine Gardens recovered, and the pressure on them dropped sharply.

Everyone felt much more at ease.

During this time, everyone learned that Jiang Hao was raising a rabbit.

Rabbit also grew familiar with the people in the Spirit Medicine Garden. Having awakened twice, he even learned to speak.

But he did not dare provoke anyone he should not. If even Jiang Hao had to bow his head, how could a spirit pet like him dare swagger before them?

"What would you like to eat today, Lord Spirit Beast?" Cheng Chou asked softly, currying favor.

"Call me Lord Rabbit," Rabbit said, standing on the ground with an arrogant, overbearing air.

His voice was not childish.

He was a male rabbit.

"Lord Rabbit, what would you like to eat today?" Cheng Chou showed no surprise, seemingly already accustomed to this.

"People," Rabbit said fiercely.