Meeting the Earl of Nan'an Again
The next day, Kang Dabao and the Daoist Black Shoes were to return at sunrise, but Kuai En still went to great lengths to make the send-off a grand affair, creating a scene of a huge crowd and deafening drums and gongs, as if afraid that outsiders wouldn't know that they were seeing off the Daoist Black Shoes.
Before parting, the younger sister of the Kuai Household entrusted him with a letter to deliver to Pei Yi, hoping it would ease her longing.
Kang Dabao carefully put away his daughter's letter and boarded the flying boat for the return journey with the Daoist Black Shoes.
The Sect Leader Kang Da took over the position of controlling the flying boat. This flying boat, which he obtained from Elder Ying Bi of the Three Incense Cult, was very new, large and spacious, and flew quickly.
Aside from the excessive consumption of Spirit Stone, Kang Dabao could hardly find any other faults.
"I never imagined that I, Daoist Master, would one day be piloting Second Tier flying boat in my lifetime." In his excitement, Sect Leader Kang Da silently thanked Elder Ying Bi Biying.
"Kuang Liuting has taken note of the Three Incense Cult." The Daoist Black Shoes, sitting next to Kang Dabao, suddenly brought up the matter of the Three Incense Cult.
Sect Leader Kang Da didn't find it abrupt, thinking that it was probably just that the Daoist Black Shoes was chatting with him out of boredom. He simply replied, "The Three Incense Cult Sect is really powerful. Ying Bi's quite something that a mere elder, whose ranking isn't that high, can actually control Demon Beast and drive hundreds of Qi Refinement and three Foundation Establishment from the state court to the True Cultivator of defeat."
Their Qi Refinement is no small feat either; they even managed to destroy the Chongming Market for this kid. They're truly remarkable.
Unexpectedly, the Daoist Black Shoes shook his head in rejection, saying, "You've misunderstood. If everyone in the Three Incense Cult had such abilities, then the Stone Mountain Sect wouldn't be the only dominant sect in Pu Prefecture."
The Daoist Black Shoes stood up and continued to explain to Kang Dabao, "The Three Incense Cult Fragrances Sect has been established for nearly eight hundred years. The founder, the Daoist Three Incense, was merely a lowly Green Leaf Foundation Establishment. Later, relying on the three unrefined incense-making techniques left by the Daoist Three Incense —bewitching Bewitching Incense, Beast Incense, and Spring Incense —the sect has developed into a large sect with seven or eight Foundation Establishment and four or five hundred members."
"Do you Ying Bi really has the ability to fight three Foundation Establishment from the state court alone? I don't know about the other two, but that Buse monk comes from the Original Buddha Sect in the capital region, which is one of the ancestral temples of thousands of Buddhist cultivators in the Immortal Dynasty. Although he can't even get a position there, and is considered an elite but actually a nobody, he has indeed cultivated the Vajra Dharma Body. Otherwise, Kuang Liuting, whose power is growing, wouldn't necessarily send him out to gain merit. This is a sign that he is about to be given an important position."
"What does Martial Uncle mean? They Ying Bi not usually have such methods? Then they must have borrowed external resources." Kang Dabao suddenly realized. He had been wondering why the Three Incense Cult was so powerful. He had traveled all over the country for so many years, how come he had never heard of its name?
Logically speaking, a sect with such powerful disciples should have heard of their impressive achievements long ago, even though the Sect Leader Kang Da's cultivation level wasn't high.
"Not bad." The Daoist Black Shoes nodded in praise, taking out a pure white Beast Incense, which looked unremarkable, only about half the size of a palm.
"Back then, Shen Lingfeng, mindful of his meritorious service in pacifying the barbarians for the Three Incense Cult Sect, rewarded his family with half a scale powder from a Third Tier Silver Scale Beast. His family spent two cycles of sixty years crafting a palm-sized piece of Beast Incense. Over the years, it has been incredibly precious, and apart from the day the Two Instruments Sect's army approached, they have never been willing to use it, treating it as a family heirloom."
"Second-Tier Supreme-Grade Beast Incense!" Sect Leader Kang Da exclaimed in surprise. He had seen very few Second-Tier Supreme-Grade items in his life, and they were all glittering treasures. He never thought that this unassuming thing in front of him was also one.
"That's not right. Didn't my martial uncle say that his family got the reward by currying favor with Steward Shen? How come they've become staunch lackeys of the Two Instruments Sect now?" Kang Dabao sensed something was amiss and asked.
"With Shen Lingfeng gone, the Immortal Dynasty couldn't withstand the Two Instruments Sect's counterattack, so it's no wonder that others switched allegiance," the Daoist Black Shoes said casually.
The Three Incense Cult once sacrificed their lives for the Immortal Dynasty, but the Immortal Dynasty abandoned these forces in Shannan Circuit after the war against the barbarians.
Therefore, the Three Incense Cult can now use the Beast Incense bestowed by the Immortal Dynasty to deal with the lackeys of the State Court without any psychological pressure.
"Tch, you lazy bum, you call others lackeys of the Immortal Dynasty, then what are you, the Pingrong County and the Fei Household's eldest son-in-law?" The Daoist Black Shoes laughed and cursed.
"Ha, young man, you are naturally a loyal minister of the Immortal Dynasty and a pillar of the state government," Sect Leader Kang Da replied shamelessly with a laugh, then added, "I wonder if my Chongming Market will ever be able to reopen? It's quite a pity."
"Don't focus too much on the trade of a few fragments of spirit essence. Once you 'Foundation Establishment, these petty gains are nothing to worry about," the Daoist Black Shoes remarked. Before Kang Dabao could reply, the Daoist's gaze sharpened, and he strode to the bow of the boat.
Before long, a slender Daoist priest, riding on a colorful cloud, landed in front of the Daoist Black Shoes with a smile on his face.
"Kuang Liuting of the Kuang Household of Xifu greets fellow Daoist." The Earl of Nan'an showed no arrogance at this moment, and took the lead in bowing to the Daoist Black Shoes, being very polite.
"Black Shoes from Hemu Dao, Pingrong County, greets fellow Daoist." Daoist Black Shoes returned the greeting politely, showing no sign of being flattered by the Earl of Nan'an's humble words.
Kuang Liuting has been in Cloud Horn Prefecture for quite some time now, and Daoist Black Shoes is the first Foundation Establishment cultivator who dares not address him as "Lord" to his face, but instead calls him "Fellow Daoist".
His smile widened with surprise, and in high spirits, he turned to the silent and trembling Sect Leader Kang Da and greeted him, "Privy Treasury Kang, it's been a long time. How are you and Fei Household?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Excellency. My wife and I have been treating each other with the utmost respect these past few days," Kang Dabao replied respectfully, his back hunched, and he was not lying.
"That's good. Remember to let me know when you have a son. I'll come and drink your wine again." Kuang Liuting let out a hearty laugh. If someone without guile were in Sect Leader Kang Da, seeing this man's behavior, they might actually think they had won the Earl's favor.
However, Sect Leader Kang Da was always one to see himself clearly, so he simply lowered his head and chuckled awkwardly, "If Your Excellency were to grace my humble abode with your presence again, it would truly be a blessing that our Chongming Sect has accumulated over several lifetimes."
Kuang Liuting nodded slightly. The atmosphere had been set, and he was about to speak with the person in charge. He turned to the Daoist Black Shoes and said, "Please, fellow Daoist, find me a quiet place to talk."
The quiet place Kuang Liuting mentioned was not meant to shield Kang Dabao, this junior. With the latter's meager skills, Kuang Liuting had countless ways to ensure that the Sect Leader Kang Da couldn't hear a single word of their conversation, if he so desired.
The Daoist Black Shoes thought for a moment before saying, "Then I'll trouble you to lead the way, fellow Daoist." He then turned to Sect Leader Kang Da and said, "You stay here and don't move."
Thank you to reader 161210202322519 for the Extended Net Moon.
Thanks to Dao Keming and Alpaca Qidian for the monthly tickets.
Thank you to Jellyfish Spider, Autumn Osmanthus Fragrance, Night Dance, 160801080011308, YoYo Deer Cry 0o, Skinny Pigsy Ah Ah, Crazy Wheel Hub, and Book Friend 20220823100343614 for your monthly tickets.
Thank you all for reading, subscribing, commenting, and voting.
Thank you everyone.