Faced with his two senior brothers' praise, Chen Shuangbai showed no sign of complacency.
"You give me too much credit, senior brothers."
"If you hadn't held those two Late Qi Refining Stage Devil Cultivators back, I wouldn't have been able to spare a hand to support you. I'm afraid I would barely have managed to protect myself."
"It was simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time and each doing our part."
He spoke sincerely, and it really did sound plausible.
But when Jiang Xunzhen and Lu Zhiyuan heard this, they felt even more strongly that Junior Brother Chen not only had extraordinary abilities, but was also humble and clear-minded. They couldn't help but think even more highly of him.
After taking medicinal pills and regulating their breathing for a while, the three returned to the mountain gate and collected the Storage Bags, Law Artifacts, and other items from the corpses. Then they concealed the valley entrance once more to keep others from prying.
As usual, Jiang Xunzhen would hold on to these things until they returned to the sect, when they would divide them according to each person's contribution to the trip.
Outside the valley.
Looking at the area that had collapsed into ruins, Lu Zhiyuan said with some regret, "It's a shame we couldn't keep those two devil dogs from escaping..."
But before he could finish, two dark shapes suddenly fell from the sky.
They hit the ground with two thuds, and the three saw that they were the corpses of the two Heart-Eroding Stronghold cultivators who had fled earlier.
The three looked up into the sky in the direction from which the corpses had fallen. High above stood a cultivator wearing the robes of a Jade Spring Sect disciple. A jade mask covered his face, and it seemed to have an illusion spell cast upon it, so that all anyone could see was a conjured face.
But when the three saw the pattern of two crossed jade swords embroidered on his cuffs, their expressions turned serious.
They flew into the air and greeted him with a fellow disciple's salute.
"Outer sect disciples Jiang Xunzhen, Lu Zhiyuan, and Chen Shuangbai greet you, Senior Brother of the Evil Hunting Hall."
That was right.
The newcomer was a member of the Evil Hunting Hall, the force Jade Spring Sect employed to wage war beyond its borders.
The man gave a slight nod, then spoke in a clear voice. "Greetings, junior brothers. I was carrying out a sect mission nearby and came as soon as I received the message. But I saw that the three of you were handling yourselves well, and you even managed to turn the tables and kill your opponents in the end, so I didn't intervene."
"These are the two devil dogs who tried to run. I've already killed them. This isn't a place to linger, so hurry back to the mountain."
The three assented.
Chen Shuangbai, however, thought to himself, I'd long heard that the Evil Hunting Hall's rules were strict, but I never imagined they were this severe. Even its members can't show their true faces when they go out.
But since their senior brother had spoken, and the three had already intended to return to the sect at once, they did not object. They agreed and thanked him for helping them deal with a future threat.
Lu Zhiyuan summoned the flying boat, and just as they were about to speed away, the Evil Hunting Hall senior brother suddenly spoke again.
"Junior Brother Chen..."
As if possessed, Chen Shuangbai turned around and saw the man staring straight at him. Though puzzled, he still answered politely.
"What is it, Senior Brother?"
The man nodded slightly, then came closer. "I was watching just now as the three of you fought those five devil dogs. Your support was very timely and very useful, Junior Brother... Might I ask if the technique you cultivate is the Water and Wood Pure Splendor Incantation?"
Chen Shuangbai was a little surprised.
The Jade Spring Sect's Scripture Transmission Hall contained, if not ten thousand, then at least eight thousand spells, Secret Methods, and incantations, yet this senior brother had recognized his at a glance. He truly had a keen eye.
There was nothing to hide from a fellow sect member anyway, so Chen Shuangbai nodded slightly.
"It is."
The man seemed to breathe a soft sigh, but Chen Shuangbai vaguely sensed his delight.
Spiritual light flashed at his fingertips, and an object flew out of his sleeve: a Jade Spring Sect disciple's jade token. Then Chen Shuangbai heard his tone grow a little warmer.
"Junior Brother Chen, could we exchange transmission contacts?"
This time, Chen Shuangbai was not the only one surprised.
Even Jiang Xunzhen and Lu Zhiyuan, who had already boarded the flying boat, looked utterly astonished.
Because of their special duties, Evil Hunting Hall disciples dealt with evil fiends, traitors, and spies both within and outside the sect all year round. They had always acted mysteriously and kept a low profile, and were even more guarded toward outsiders.
Cultivators who entered the Evil Hunting Hall would generally take an alias and conceal their true identities to keep them from those with designs on them.
Everyone understood the reason for this, however.
Chen Shuangbai suppressed his surprise and suspicion, letting none of it show on his face. He calmly took his own disciple's jade token from his robes, activated it with Law Power, and exchanged transmission contacts with him.
After putting his disciple's jade token away, Chen Shuangbai saw that a new name had appeared among the few contacts he could send messages to: Yan Qi.
After exchanging contacts, Yan Qi seemed a little more cheerful. Apparently having achieved his purpose, he did not linger. He reminded the three once more to return to the sect as soon as possible, then turned into a streak of light and vanished into the clouds.
Still puzzled, Chen Shuangbai returned to the flying boat.
While dividing his attention between piloting the boat and the conversation, Lu Zhiyuan began probing discreetly.
"Junior Brother Chen, did you already know that senior brother from the Evil Hunting Hall?"
Chen Shuangbai shook his head and answered truthfully, "Before I joined the sect, I had no relatives or friends here."
That made it even stranger.
Jiang Xunzhen, however, seemed to know something. He couldn't help glancing at Chen Shuangbai. "I think that senior brother may value one of your strengths, Junior Brother Chen, and wants to befriend you."
Befriend me?
Chen Shuangbai lowered his eyes slightly and pondered-
Senior Brother Yan Qi mentioned the Water and Wood Pure Splendor Incantation I cultivate just now. From his tone, he seemed very curious about it, so I suppose it must have something to do with that incantation.
Forget it. I can't make sense of it now anyway. I'll return to the sect first.
After returning to the sect.
All three had injuries, so they returned to their respective cave abodes to recover. They agreed to meet three days later in the same private room they had set out from, and divide the proceeds according to their contributions.
Chen Shuangbai had no objection.
He brought out the Flowing Cloud Flying Pouch and returned to his cave abode on Lesser Yang Peak under the sweep of the sect-protecting formation.
He had already put Feiguang into the beast-taming ring, and once back at the sect, Chen Shuangbai let him out.
Back in familiar surroundings, Feiguang seemed especially lively.
In front of the cave abode on Lesser Yang Peak.
Chen Shuangbai stroked Feiguang's eagle head with practiced hands. Feiguang made a contented rumbling sound, and Chen Shuangbai said, "Our first battle was a victory! Feiguang, Feiguang, all the effort I put into raising you wasn't wasted!"
Feiguang seemed to understand and proudly puffed out his chest, as if asking for credit.
Chen Shuangbai laughed heartily, took several spirit-nourishing pills from his sleeve, and fed them all to Feiguang.
"All right, go play!"
At his master's command, Feiguang beat his wings and turned into a white blur, soaring straight into the clouds.
Chen Shuangbai smiled faintly, returned to his cave abode, and began tending to his injuries.
He first examined them carefully. After confirming that he had merely exhausted his Law Power and slightly strained his meridians, with nothing serious and only a few days of rest needed, he breathed a small sigh of relief. Then he took a medicinal pill and began circulating his cultivation to heal.