New Elder
Kang Dabao looked at the devastated Chongming Market. Just a day ago, this place was the site of the Chongming Sect's current leader's great hopes for revival. Now, only the Ye Household's shops still stood forlornly in the same spot, while the other buildings, like the Chongming Small Pavilion, had become broken tiles and ruins.
"Phew, were Shilun and Xinran scared?" Sect Leader Kang Da turned around and walked to Pei Yi's side, asking with concern.
The Chongming Market is destroyed, and Kang Dabao, with his stingy nature, may feel the pain, but he understands the principle: success or failure is not something that ordinary people can predict.
Sect Leader Kang Da hadn't succeeded in many things in the first half of his life, so he could bear this bitterness.
The only saving grace was that neither Jin Shilun nor Zhou Xinran were seriously injured.
Shortly after the market's magic array was broken, and after a chaotic battle, before they could even hide inside the Chongming Small Pavilion, they were captured by a mid- First-Tier Middle-Grade Wind Eagle.
This beast didn't eat much of the aroma and was quick-witted. It took the two of them and fled towards its nest, most likely intending to take them back to feed its young.
Fortunately, they were intercepted by Pei Yi and Yuan Jin, who were searching for people in a spirit boat. The Wind Eagle was a clever one. It flew desperately with Jin Shilun and Zhou Xinran for a while, but when it realized it couldn't shake them off, it abandoned the two without a second thought, flapped its wings, and fled for its own life.
Pei Yi and Yuan Jin were there to rescue people, and had no intention of causing trouble for that hairy beast. They brought the two back without stopping.
When Zhou Yixiu saw Zhou Xinran, he almost cried himself to death, muttering to himself incessantly.
On the contrary, although Zhou Xinran's panic had not faded, she was much calmer than her father and was able to comfort him.
Jin Shilun's injuries were much more severe. He was unlucky; before being captured by the Wind Eagle, he was rammed by a Red-Maned Mountain Boar, and one of his wounds was deeply pierced by the tusks.
Unfortunately, his cultivation level was low, and the gale in the air was as hard as a knife. His spiritual energy shield could only withstand a few blows before it became ineffective, leaving him covered in wounds, even with several cuts on his face.
Therefore, his injuries are quite serious. Pei Yi has just received medicine, but he still has to lie down and cannot get up. Duan Anle and Mo'er are taking care of him. It seems that he will need to recuperate for quite some time.
"Master, rest assured, I am fine." Jin Shilun suppressed the pain and forced a smile.
"I didn't ask you to speak, why are you showing off!" A flash of heartache crossed Sect Leader Kang Da's eyes, but his words were reproachful. "You were supposed to be on leave to go home, why did you have to come to the market and end up like this?"
"Hmph, come on, without your disciple showing off, how come your shabby market only managed to stop a few deaths? And those who escaped from Linghe Market, there are hardly any survivors up there, even Dai Yuanjiang died up there." Ye Zhengwen also came over, his expression mocking, and said sarcastically, "Trying too big a step and ending up in a mess? With such little capital, you tried to open a market, now you've lost everything, do you even have underwear left?"
"Dai Yuanjiang is dead? That's actually good news." Kang Dabao was actually a little happy to hear that. Sure enough, the most effective way to comfort someone is to tell an even more tragic story to share.
However, Kang Dabao ignored Ye Zhengwen and asked Pei Yi a few more questions. The latter looked relaxed and said, "Don't worry, Senior Brother, it's nothing serious. He just needs to recuperate. It's truly the Dao Ancestor's blessing."
"That's good, that's good." Kang Dabao breathed a sigh of relief, snorted coldly at Ye Zhengwen, and walked towards the Ye Household shop.
The Ye Household seemed to be exceptionally lucky. Even the He Household's shop, which had cost a considerable sum to build with First-Tier Superior-Grade magic array, was smashed to pieces by the Demon Beast. Yet, the Ye Household's shop managed to hold on until the end, and even most of the mortal martial artists inside survived. It was simply unbelievable.
However, not all Ye Household are so lucky.
Ye Pinglin is dead.
The Sect Leader Kang Da once thought that this outstanding young patriarch, with his unwavering perseverance, might become a good head of the family like Xue Hu of the Xue Household, Lu Xun of the Lu Household, or even himself in the near future.
However, he died an ordinary death on that very day.
"As soon as the magic array broke, a Red-Maned Mountain Boar charged forward, easily dodging Ye Pinglin's defensive magic Law Artifact with a gentle nudge of its snout, smashing its body to pieces."
A rogue Rogue Cultivator who had miraculously survived calmly recounted to Kang Dabao the events surrounding Ye Pinglin's death in a simple account, using less than fifty words.
Perhaps Ye Pinglin's death was far more tragic than this Rogue Cultivator described; perhaps he was thinking of his younger siblings before he died, leaving behind a few words of lingering affection. Perhaps...
But none of that matters now. No matter how he died, he's dead. Ye Pinglin stood at the forefront of the Demon Beast, his corpse so mangled it was beyond repair.
Ye Yaoling's crying stopped faster than Kang Dabao had imagined. This little girl had grown up very quickly, almost instantly after her brother passed away.
On the contrary, Kang Dabao didn't know what to say for a moment, so he called Zhang Le over to talk to her for a while. But this dull girl had no ability to comfort people. Fortunately, Zhou Xinran arrived soon after. She was not injured and was familiar with Ye Yaoling, so it was just right.
Zhou Xinran's arrival allowed the Sect Leader Kang Da to escape the extremely stifling Ye Household shop. It wasn't just Ye Yaoling who was crying; the Kuai Household was crying, the Xue Household was crying, and the ruins were filled with the sound of weeping.
"More people will die." Sima Fei's words echoed in his mind again.
Kang Dabao suddenly felt a little scared. He wasn't so much afraid of dying, but he was afraid that one day he would cry like the people in front of him.
Ye Zhengwen walked over, his smile gone, and said, "There's something fishy about this. It's not just targeting your family; it seems more like it's aimed at the Yue Household. But why didn't the Yue Household send anyone? It's the Immortal Dynasty."
"How long will it take you to get definite news?" Sect Leader Kang Da asked.
"It involves Foundation Establishment, so it's hard to say," Ye Zhengwen shook his head. "Even if we wanted to buy it, it would cost a fortune. We might as well ask others."
"You mean Tie Liuyun?" Kang Dabao murmured.
Ye Zhengwen nodded and continued, "You can also ask your senior Black Shoes. Now that he's become famous overnight, a lot of information is sent to him without needing to be bought."
Kang Dabao remained silent for a moment. At this time, Jiang Qing also hurriedly returned. After hearing that Jin Shilun and Zhou Xinran both unharmed, he was relieved and murmured "May the Dao Ancestor protect us" several times.
He was also acquainted with Ye Zhengwen, and after exchanging greetings, he took out a Storage Bag and handed it to Kang Dabao, saying, "Junior brother went out and picked up a Storage Bag earlier. It contains some clues about the inexplicable attack on Chongming Market this time."
"Why didn't you bring the person back?" Kang Dabao took the Storage Bag, frowning, clearly dissatisfied with Jiang Qing's actions.
"I couldn't stop myself, alas!" Jiang Qing said, feeling extremely frustrated. "I thought that female cultivator in the tiger-coat was quite skilled, and that one sword strike would only injure her, but unexpectedly it killed her outright."
"I overestimated that female cultivator's abilities; she's probably not even as good as Senior Brother Pei," Jiang Qing thought to himself, then turned and said, "Junior Brother found a token from the Pu Prefecture Three Incense Cult Sect."
Before Jiang Qing could finish speaking, Kang Dabao sternly gestured for her to stop, "You haven't left my side for a single moment today, remember that!"
"Yes, junior brother, I understand."
Seeing that Jiang Qing obediently agreed, Kang Dabao put away his Storage Bag and turned to look at Ye Zhengwen with an unfriendly expression. The latter was taken aback at first, then his face immediately turned angry. "You, surnamed Kang, do you really think I would sell out Younger Brother Jiang?!"
"Since this involves Foundation Establishment, I'd better be careful!" Kang Dabao's expression didn't improve after hearing this, and he still stared blankly at Ye Zhengwen.
Upon hearing this, the latter's anger intensified, and he cursed even louder, "Fine! Damn it, I'll sell the news that your junior brother killed a disciple of the Three Incense Cult in Pu Prefecture, and see when his Foundation Establishment comes to wipe out your entire sect!"
Judging from Jiang Qing's composure after hearing Ye Zhengwen's words, it's clear that the latter's relationship with Kang Dabao is quite close.
Kang Dabao remained calm, took something out of his Storage Bag, and stuffed it into Ye Zhengwen's hand, saying, "I'll only feel at ease if you hold onto this. If you dare to throw it away, whether my Chongming Sect is wiped out or not is uncertain, but I'll have my Third kill you with a single sword strike, you bastard."
After saying his piece, Sect Leader Kang Da left with Jiang Qing, leaving Ye Zhengwen completely bewildered. He could only look at the object in his hand, an ironwood plaque with an antique feel.
After turning it over and examining it closely, Ye Zhengwen saw the two large, gleaming gold characters "Elder" printed on the front of the sign. He immediately recognized it and cursed, "Damn it!"
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