Passing on the flame

When Wang Ba arrived at South Lake Village, he found that the place had undergone a complete transformation.

Perhaps to make it easier to accommodate the newly arrived servant disciples, more than a dozen rows of brand-new houses had sprung up beside South Lake Village in just a few days.

Unlike a few days earlier, however, when sect disciples had been flying to and fro, Wang Ba observed for a while and found that there were noticeably fewer Qi Refining disciples.

Foundation Establishment cultivators were nowhere to be seen. Most likely, they were no longer here.

And unlike the deserted West Garden Market, South Lake Village was bustling.

People came and went, jostling shoulder to shoulder, making it look like a mortal marketplace.

After observing for a while longer, Wang Ba quietly stopped maintaining his disguise.

For one thing, amid the crowd, a servant disciple like him was inconspicuous, so he did not need to worry too much about attracting attention.

For another, deceiving so many people at once consumed an enormous amount of Yin Spirit Power, even though few of them were Qi Refining disciples.

During this time, he occasionally saw people dressed as stewards calling out and leading away several servant disciples, seemingly assigning them work.

The newly arrived servant disciples still seemed full of curiosity about life in the sect, looking all around, their yearning for a sect of immortals almost impossible to conceal.

The urgency of the approaching war seemed not to have affected this place in the slightest.

After watching for a while, Wang Ba carefully searched for the entrance to the underground passage according to the location marked on Gou Mu's map.

The entrance to the underground passage was inside a dry well in the backyard of an abandoned home.

It was a secluded spot, with few passersby nearby.

To his relief, the abandoned house seemed unoccupied, perhaps because it was too shabby.

What troubled him, however, was that he spotted several sect disciples here.

Not daring to linger and arouse their suspicion, Wang Ba walked farther away before stopping a woman dressed as a servant disciple and slipping her two eggs.

Precious Chicken eggs were not worth much, but at a time like this, they truly were an unbeatable weapon.

At first, the woman guarded her chest warily. At the sight of the eggs, she dispensed with politeness and hurriedly tucked them into her bosom.

"Excuse me, sister, may I ask you something? The Lu Household moved here not long ago. Why does it look as though they're no longer here?"

Wang Ba did not ask directly, instead taking a roundabout approach.

As it happened, after entering the village, he had intended to visit his old friend while he was there, only to discover unexpectedly that the Lu Household's home was completely empty.

The woman's expression tightened at his words. She first tilted her head to look past Wang Ba at the other side, then spoke rapidly in a low voice.

"Why are you asking about that? You mustn't ask about such things!"

"That Lu Household offended someone!"

"They were driven out of the village a few days ago."

"Driven out of the village?" Wang Ba could not help frowning. "Then where were they driven to? Out of the sect?"

"No!"

A trace of disdain flashed in the woman's eyes.

"As if they could bear to leave the sect! I heard someone above gave the Lu Household special permission to leave, but they refused. Now they're clinging to a manor outside. There, west of the market..."

"Other people don't know any of this. I'm only telling you because you have such a sweet tongue!"

"Thank you!"

Wang Ba hurriedly handed her two more eggs with a smile. Overjoyed, the woman immediately stuffed them into her bosom, leaving six bulging lumps across her front.

Wang Ba glanced at them, then asked with seeming casualness, "By the way, I haven't been here for a while. Why are there so many exalted immortals here?"

This immediately prompted a flood of complaints from the woman.

"Oh, it's all because a few servant disciples went missing earlier. Almost all the exalted immortals had already left, but then this business of missing servant disciples suddenly cropped up, so the higher-ups sent a few exalted immortals back. Look, this spot may be secluded, but the view is excellent. You can see the entire village at a glance."

"Still, I reckon these exalted immortals will be heading back in a few days."

"Why?" Wang Ba asked curiously.

"Don't you know? There's going to be a war! Who'll have time to bother with us then?"

The woman spoke as though it were only natural.

Then regret appeared on her face. "What a pity we women don't have much strength. If I had something dangling between my legs, I'd definitely seize this chance and follow the exalted immortals into battle. Who knows? I might even fight my way to a spiritual root!"

Wang Ba chuckled twice at her words.

He had no intention of going.

After bidding the woman farewell, Wang Ba could not think of any way to evade the sect disciples near the entrance to the underground passage. He could only suppress his impatience for now and leave South Lake Village.

After some thought, he changed course midway and headed for the manor where the Lu Household was staying.

Although he had already made many guesses about the Lu Household's miserable circumstances, when he saw Shopkeeper Lu lying on his sickbed, wasted to skin and bones and barely able to speak, Wang Ba did not know what to say.

"How did it come to this!"

After staying for a while, Wang Ba left a few spirit stones as a small token of goodwill, then departed from the Lu Household.

Standing at the entrance and looking at the dilapidated courtyard, he could not help sighing.

He truly could not understand why Shopkeeper Lu insisted on staying here when he knew full well that treacherous currents swirled within the sect, and that many disciples there were hostile toward the Lu Household.

If they left the sect, with the Lu Household's former resources, becoming the wealthiest household in the area would be no difficult matter.

Why suffer such harsh treatment here?

The sect's indifference also left Wang Ba speechless.

After all, the Lu Household was the lineage of Lu Yuansheng, the former chief outer sect disciple. They had fallen into such misery, yet the sect had made no gesture at all. Was it not worried that its disciples would become estranged and disloyal?

Carrying these questions and complicated feelings, Wang Ba had not gone far when a voice suddenly called him to a halt.

"Junior Brother Wang, wait."

Junior Brother Wang?

Wang Ba's heart tightened, then he realized who it was.

He hurriedly turned and bowed. "Exalted... Senior Brother Zhao!"

"No need for formalities!"

Zhao Feng strode over with a Law Sword on his back. As he drew near, an unusual look suddenly appeared on his face.

"The ninth layer already?"

"It seems your hidden spiritual root is at least upper-middle grade, even if it isn't high grade!"

As he spoke, he unobtrusively supported Wang Ba's arm as he bowed. A thread of law power as fine as gossamer quietly circulated, and after a brief pause, a faint smile appeared on his stern face for the first time.

Wang Ba vaguely felt as though something foreign had entered his body, but when he tried to sense it carefully, it had vanished. His heart immediately tightened.

He hurriedly put on an embarrassed expression. "You flatter me, Senior Brother Zhao. I'd be endlessly grateful just to have a low-grade spiritual root."

"No need for modesty. Reaching the ninth layer within a year is very good."

Zhao Feng shook his head slightly, then became solemn. "You went to see the Lu Household, didn't you?"

Wang Ba did not understand his meaning, but knew he could not hide it from him. He hurriedly nodded and said hesitantly,

"The Lu Household seems to be doing rather poorly now."

A rare trace of anger appeared on Zhao Feng's stern face.

"I know!"

"Senior Brother Lu was a peerless talent. What an extraordinary man he was! Yet I never imagined his clansmen would have no sense whatsoever of when to advance and when to retreat. I called in so many favors before I could persuade an elder of the External Affairs Office to let them leave the sect, only for them to refuse!"

Understanding immediately dawned on Wang Ba.

The woman had indeed mentioned that the higher-ups had granted the Lu Household special permission to leave the sect. He had not expected Zhao Feng to be the one pulling strings.

It seemed that although Lu Yuansheng had accumulated many enemies while alive, he also had loyal supporters like Zhao Feng, who still cherished their old ties and were willing to help his lineage even after his death.

To be honest, Wang Ba rather envied people like Lu Yuansheng.

While alive, he had presumably been the sort to repay kindness and settle grudges freely, bold and chivalrous.

His personal charisma had been extraordinary. It was a pity they had never had the chance to meet.

"Then... what do you mean, Senior Brother Zhao..."

Unable to quite grasp Zhao Feng's thoughts, Wang Ba asked cautiously.

"Four of the Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples would like nothing better than to scatter the Lu Household's ashes. Even doing everything in my power, I can barely protect them now."

There was not a trace of unnecessary expression on Zhao Feng's stern face. "But that isn't important. The sect will soon go to war against the Fu Kingdom, and most of the Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples will be going into battle. The Lu Household will be safe for now."

"It's just that I vaguely feel there was something suspicious about Senior Brother Lu's death. It may have something to do with certain people within the sect. I've investigated throughout the outer sect, even among the servant disciples..."

Wang Ba shrank his head into his shoulders. This had nothing to do with him. At most, he had a small personal friendship with Shopkeeper Lu, and he had no interest whatsoever in wading into these muddy waters.

Still, Zhao Feng's words resolved another of his questions. So the five great sects of the Chen Kingdom were actually going to war against the neighboring Fu Kingdom. No wonder all five had to join forces.

For some reason, though, he vaguely felt something was odd, but he could not say exactly what.

Zhao Feng seemed to realize this as well. Shaking his head, he said, "Never mind. None of this concerns you. Your most important task right now is to reach the tenth layer of the Body-Strengthening Scripture, so you can enter the outer sect as soon as possible."

After a moment's thought, he suddenly added, "Do you still have the jade pendant I gave you?"

Wang Ba hurriedly nodded and took the simple, antique jade ring pendant from where he kept it close to his body at his waist.

Zhao Feng took the pendant, then suddenly formed hand seals, shaping his fingers into a Sword Finger.

The Law Sword on his back immediately stirred at the sound. A moment later, a gleam of light flashed across its blade and plunged into the jade pendant.

After doing this, Zhao Feng seemed somewhat tired. He handed the pendant back to Wang Ba.

Wang Ba accepted it and saw a strand of sword Qi moving across its surface. After looking at it for only a little longer, he felt a sharp, piercing pain in both eyes.

"Senior Brother Zhao, this..."

"The pendant contains a strand of my sword Qi. Although it cannot match my full-strength strike, it has thirty or forty percent of its power. Use it to protect yourself. Ordinary cultivators below the seventh layer of Qi Refining should be unable to harm you. However, it only has enough power for one strike. Simply activate it with a thought."

Zhao Feng's stern face remained expressionless. "Consider it my first-meeting gift to you, Junior Brother."

"This... this is far too precious..."

Wang Ba was deeply moved.

Earlier at West Garden Market, even an armor talisman capable of withstanding a third-layer Qi Refining cultivator had sold for three spirit stones. This strand of Zhao Feng's sword Qi would probably cost more than several dozen spirit stones.

More importantly, there was nowhere to buy it.

If it were put up for sale at the market, there would surely be people willing to pay even a hundred spirit stones.

This favor was far too weighty!

So weighty that instead of feeling happy, Wang Ba became apprehensive.

But before he could decline, Zhao Feng had already turned away. Leaving behind only one sentence, he quietly vanished.

"Don't overthink it. Senior Brother Lu once treated me the same way."

Hearing those words, Wang Ba froze where he stood.