The dark figure made only a brief inspection before dissipating like smoke once more.
Xu Xuan did not linger. He silently withdrew to his humble room.
He immediately informed Li Jiangping of the situation through a secret channel, but concealed how he had discovered it.
He said only that he had happened to notice something unusual while patrolling at night.
Li Jiangping was greatly alarmed by the news. He immediately strengthened the storehouse guards and reported it to the Law Enforcement Hall.
Yet it seemed they were still a step too late.
The following night, the restrictions surrounding the herb garden's storehouse were broken by uncanny means.
Several disciples on guard duty lay unconscious, and a batch of precious blood crystal grass, which could be used to refine healing pills, had vanished from the storehouse.
That same sinister aura lingered at the scene!
As the news spread, the herb garden, and even the entire outer sect, erupted in an uproar.
Demonic cultivators had actually dared to infiltrate the heart of the sect to steal.
This was naked provocation!
Xu Xuan stood outside the damaged storehouse, his expression calm, though waves surged within his heart.
The demonic shadow had appeared, its fangs beginning to show.
The Azure Wood Sect's peaceful days would probably never return.
"The wind fills the tower before the mountain storm arrives..." he murmured.
He felt the vigorous vitality and power contained within the Yellow Court inside him.
"Since I can't avoid it, I can only meet it head-on."
"Just as well. Let me see what level I've reached after all this time spent laying my foundations."
The moon was hidden, the wind high, and the herb garden silent.
There were only the scattered footsteps of disciples on night patrol and the faint rustling of spirit herbs in the night wind.
Xu Xuan sat meditating in his residence. His Yellow Court had only just opened, leaving his mind clear and refreshed. Sudden-
-ly, his eyes flew open. His spiritual sense detected several cold, sinister auras rapidly approaching from the rear mountain.
"They're here!"
With a thought, his figure had already swept out like a wisp of smoke.
Almost simultaneously, shrill warning whistles sounded throughout the herb garden.
Dark figures loomed, their demonic aura chilling. More than ten black-clad demonic cultivators charged in brazenly, wielding sharp blades and sinister implements.
They slashed at everyone they saw and destroyed every herb they encountered, clearly intent on creating chaos and plundering resources.
"Enemy attack! Form up and defend!"
Manager Zhao's furious roar rang out, and the disciples and menial workers remaining in the herb garden hastily engaged the attackers.
Battle cries immediately rose on all sides. Spiritual light clashed with demonic energy, and screams rang out without pause.
Xu Xuan did not immediately charge toward the fiercest fighting.
His gaze flashed like lightning as he surveyed the entire scene.
He saw three demonic cultivators breaking through a weak defensive line and heading straight for the storehouse.
Their leader's aura was icy cold, and his cultivation was unmistakably at the Spirit Treasury Realm.
Meanwhile, Xu An, Xu Ping, and the others were locked in a desperate struggle with several other demonic cultivators, danger closing in on every side.
"How dare you, vile fiends!"
Xu Xuan no longer concealed himself. His Yellow Court Realm spiritual power erupted with a thunderous surge.
He held two fingers together like a sword, and a streak of emerald light shot forth. It was the low-level spell Green Vine Entanglement.
The light grew as it met the wind, transforming into several thick spiritual vines.
In an instant, they bound a demonic cultivator lunging toward Xu An tightly.
"Clan elder!"
Xu An was both surprised and delighted.
"Keep yourself safe."
Before Xu Xuan's words had finished, his figure had already swept toward the storehouse like a phantom.
A demonic cultivator intercepted him along the way, and he casually waved a hand.
A tremendous burst of force blasted the attacker several yards away, blood spraying from his mouth.
At that moment, the Spirit Treasury Realm demonic cultivator had already broken through the storehouse's outer restrictions and was about to enter.
Xu Xuan arrived and barked coldly, "Stop!"
The demonic cultivator turned. Seeing an old man whose aura revealed nothing, he grinned viciously.
"Old fool, you're courting death!"
He shook the bone banner in his hand, and a streak of black energy struck like a venomous snake.
Xu Xuan neither dodged nor evaded. His spiritual sense condensed within his Yellow Court, and he said in a low voice:
"Break."
His voice sounded like muffled thunder, carrying an assault on the soul.
The demonic cultivator seemed to suffer a heavy blow, his movements faltering.
Xu Xuan seized the opening to close in. Spiritual power surged in his palm as he struck with a Greenwood Palm.
Bang!
The demonic cultivator hastily met the blow.
Yet the palm force, seemingly gentle but possessing endless follow-through, sent his blood and qi churning. He staggered back several steps, his eyes filled with horror.
"You... who are you?!"
Since when had this little herb garden possessed such an expert?
Xu Xuan did not answer. His attacks surged like the tide.
Although he had only just entered the Yellow Court Realm, his accumulation over two lifetimes gave him combat awareness far beyond others at his level.
Combined with the endlessly regenerating spiritual power of the Evergreen Technique, he actually kept the demonic cultivator firmly tied down.
Elsewhere, Li Jiangping and Manager Zhao had also joined forces to slay a demonic cultivator. Seeing this, they were both astonished and delighted.
"Brother Wang, you..."
"Repel the enemy first!" Xu Xuan said gravely.
With Xu Xuan's unexpected reinforcement, morale on the herb garden's side soared.
The disciples and menial workers fought back with all their strength. With patrolling disciples arriving to help after hearing the alarm, the demonic cultivators gradually began to falter.
Seeing that nothing could be accomplished, the Spirit Treasury Realm demonic cultivator feinted, threw out a black smoke bomb, and let out a piercing cry.
"Retreat!"
The remaining demonic cultivators fled into the night.
The herb garden was a scene of devastation, with considerable casualties, but its central storehouse had been preserved.
During the postbattle accounting, Manager Zhao grasped Xu Xuan's hand, overcome with excitement.
"Old Wang!"
"If not for you today, the herb garden's losses would have been unimaginable! I truly never expected you to have cultivated a Yellow Court too!"
Li Jiangping's eyes also shone brightly.
"Brother Wang, you've kept your abilities well hidden. You've rendered a great service this time. I'll certainly report it to the Steward Hall and request a reward for you!"
Xu Xuan cupped his hands and spoke calmly. "I merely relied on my age and cultivated for a few decades longer. Only then did I accumulate this meager cultivation."
"Protecting the herb garden is part of my duty. How could I claim any credit?"
Several days later, the Steward Hall sent someone to investigate.
Xu Xuan said only that he had begun cultivating in his youth, and that it had taken decades of arduous cultivation to attain his present meager cultivation. He had never liked drawing attention to himself.
When the demonic cultivators attacked this time, he had no choice but to act.
Xu Xuan's background in this lifetime was clean and could be traced.
Once the investigation confirmed that nothing was amiss, Xu Xuan had indeed proved loyal and trustworthy, and had rendered a great service.
The Steward Hall elder who had come from the inner sect actually summoned him personally.
In the hall, the elder looked down at Xu Xuan, his oppressive presence imposing.
"Wang Tong, you have rendered a service in protecting the herb garden. According to the rules, you deserve a reward."
"Considering that your cultivation has reached the Spiritual Treasury stage, would you be willing to enter the outer sect as a steward disciple?"
The opportunity has come!
Clearheaded, Xu Xuan bowed. "Thank you for your grace, Elder!"
"I, Wang Tong, am willing to enter the outer sect and serve the sect!"
"Good." The elder nodded.
"From this day forth, you will be the steward disciple of this herb garden. You will receive outer sect benefits and may study the cultivation techniques on the Scripture Pavilion's first floor."
"I expect you to remain diligent and never slacken. Do not disappoint the sect's efforts to nurture you."
"This disciple obeys!"
As the news spread, the herb garden was shaken.
Old Wang, a menial worker, had actually leaped straight into the position of outer sect steward disciple!
Xu An and the others felt honored as well.
Xu Xuan moved out of the menial workers' stone hut and into an outer sect disciple's courtyard residence.
Although he was only a steward disciple of the lowest rank, it meant that he had formally entered the Azure Wood Sect's gates and could gain access to more central legacies and resources.
He stood at the window of his new residence, gazing toward the main peak as he rubbed the jade token that symbolized his status.
"I've finally entered the outer sect..."
His gaze reached far into the distance. Many of the plans in his heart could now be put into action.
The herb garden grounds in the Azure Wood Sect's outer sect.
Within a quiet, elegant little courtyard, Xu Xuan wore the pale blue robes of a steward disciple, his expression peaceful.
"Brother Wang, congratulations!"
Li Jiangping walked into the courtyard with a smile and cupped his hands. "Now we can finally address one another as peers."
Xu Xuan returned the gesture. "It's all thanks to your support, Senior Brother Li."
Although he was older, he still addressed Li Jiangping respectfully to show that he had not forgotten his past kindness.
"Haha, Brother Wang, you're too modest."
Li Jiangping lowered his voice. "You rendered a great service this time. The sect's reward must have been substantial, right?"
"Having the Scripture Pavilion's first floor opened to you is a tremendous opportunity!"
Xu Xuan nodded. "I was just about to go and take a look."
The Scripture Pavilion's first floor held the Azure Wood Sect's foundational cultivation techniques, spells, and jade slips covering various miscellaneous disciplines.
They were precisely what he urgently needed at present.