The Sweep

The Cold Crow Mountain Range was serene and profound after the rain, appearing even more verdant and clear after being washed by the drizzle.

A few raindrops still clung to the tips of the broad leaves, only to be blown down by a gentle breeze.

A drop seeps into the soil, making the grass sway and feel joy; a drop splashes into the stream, stirring up ripples, then flows along the stream past the rocky beach and over the low hills, finally carrying joyful fish and fresh sand into an underground river.

This is a secluded cave, with its ceiling about ten feet above the ground. It is rarely visited by humans and has little spiritual energy. Only occasionally do some weak, low-level Demon Beast and mountain travelers who venture into the mountains for their lives stay here for a few days.

But before the fish could even take in their new home, they were pulled out of the water by an invisible force and fell into the boiling stone cauldron.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, this bat beast is quite picky. It only eats fish, and it even refuses to eat anything but cooked fish. That's quite interesting," a pot-bellied man said with a light laugh, looking at a slender woman standing in front of the stove.

The latter did not reply to him, but instead scooped out the fish that had been scalded by the spiritual liquid in the cauldron and handed it to a giant bat beast with an arm span of four or five meters beside him, which began to devour it.

Before the slender woman could speak, a burly man with narrow eyes beside them eagerly took the item and handed it back to the pot-bellied man, saying:

"Fellow Daoist Jiao, you may not know this, but although the bat beast has only just advanced to the First-Tier Middle-Grade, my younger sister has always cherished it dearly. She has always indulged it in every way since it was a child, which is why she has developed this bad habit."

The pot-bellied man merely nodded at what the narrow-eyed giant said, showing little interest in the enormous bat beast. Instead, his eyes gleamed with a wicked light as he looked at the slender woman's tiny waist.

With a slender waist like Chu and flowing hair like Wei, this female cultivator from the Lin Household was truly beautiful. To be honest, even a pot-bellied man sometimes couldn't bear to look away.

I wonder when I'll be able to get some sleep again.

It is often said that only when people are well-fed and clothed do they think of lustful desires.

It's truly laughable that the pot-bellied man, one of the few elite members of the Changning Sect who successfully hid outside the Chongming Sect, could still harbor evil thoughts in this precarious situation.

He then spoke softly, "In my True Spirit Gate, there was once a Foundation Establishment senior who raised a Second-Tier Upper-Grade Copper-Clawed Bat. I heard from the elders of the clan that he also left behind some notes to educate future generations. After returning, I borrowed them to read, so that Fellow Daoist Lin can study them."

The burly man with narrow eyes thanked her profusely, but the slender woman ignored him.

She couldn't be bothered to deal with the pot-bellied man. She simply watched as the bat-beast finished eating a foot-long, tender fish, then moved away to a corner.

The narrow-eyed burly man apologized to the pot-bellied man, for the latter was not only the leader of this group, but also one of the most powerful figures among the nearly one thousand Qi Refinement disciples of the Changning Sect.

This is someone who only needs to prepare the spiritual items before attempting to Foundation Establishment. In addition, this pot-bellied man also comes from a good family; he is a relative of Dai Fu, the sect leader of the Changning Sect.

Unlike his siblings, who were neglected by their maternal grandmother and uncles in the Lin Household and were thus chosen by the clan to be sent to their deaths.

If the pot-bellied man hadn't volunteered to participate in such a dangerous mission as infiltrating enemy territory in order to earn some resources for Foundation Establishment, he wouldn't have been chosen.

The narrow-minded, burly man thought that since he was in a dangerous situation, he should befriend such a person and not risk offending his own women over such a trivial matter as a glance, thus creating unnecessary conflict with him.

In his view, being able to return safely alive was more important than anything else.

"I might need their help later on."

The narrow-eyed man and the pot-bellied man used some areca flower tablets to pass the time. When it was time to eat, they took some Grain Avoidance Pill as usual. But in order to please the latter, the narrow-eyed man went into the river himself and caught some river delicacies.

Some black clams live in this underground river. Although they are not yet of high rank, they taste delicious. However, if these black clams are far away in the water, they can block the Divine Sense of cultivators, so they are not easy to catch.

Therefore, the narrow-minded man had no choice but to endure the hardship, abandon his dignity as an immortal, and personally enter the river.

After working for about half an incense stick's time and collecting nearly twenty black clams, the narrow-eyed man finally picked up his silk bag, weighed it in his hand, and returned home satisfied.

Just then, the protective barrier at the cave entrance emitted a loud bang. The Changning Sect guarding the entrance, his face grim, immediately released his Black-Haired Zombie to protect himself, and urgently shouted, "An intruder! Scatter!"

The significance of the restrictions set up at the entrance of the cave by the Changning Sect lies in this: if the Chongming Sect discovers them, the first thing these cunning rabbits must do is to quickly move to another place through the escape route they had prepared before entering the cave.

This cave is not some sect or clan territory that they cannot bear to abandon. If these people hold onto this place, they will be blocked by the Chongming Sect Foundation Establishment of the Chongming Sect sooner or later, and they will have little chance of survival. Staying here is the worst option.

Upon hearing the commotion, the pot-bellied man's face turned pale with fear. Without a second thought, he rushed out through the previously prepared secret passage, not even glancing at the slender-waisted female cultivator in the corner.

Upon seeing this, the narrow-eyed man still standing in the river leaped out of the water and headed towards his cousin.

The slender-waisted female cultivator had the same thought and rode her bat-like beast over. Just as she was about to help the narrow-eyed man who had just come ashore, she saw a glimmer of light appear in the river and cried out in alarm, "Brother, be careful!"

Upon hearing the roar, the narrow-eyed man's heart skipped a beat, and he was about to react when he was a step too late.

He felt a cold wind sweep past him, and a water arrow, only half the thickness of a finger, pierced the river's surface, tore his immortal robes, and was only slightly deflected before deeply embedding itself in his left back.

With a loud "bang," the narrow-eyed man seemed to hear the crack of his own flesh. The wound was a blur, with blood and chunks of flesh splattering everywhere.

First, she steered her bat-like beast to catch the narrow-eyed man steadily. Then, the slender-waisted female cultivator's eyes flashed with anger as she shouted sharply, "You're courting death!"

At his command, the bat beast flapped its wings, creating two sharp streaks of wind that clashed and plunged into the clear river. A beautiful female cultivator, having discarded her water spirit robes, was forced out of the dark river by the wind, but she remained calm and fired six more water arrows.

This Water Arrow Technique is merely Desolate-Tier Lower-Grade Technique Method that many cultivators learn when they first begin their cultivation journey. The bat beast recognized it and, naturally, became overconfident, displaying a large patch of spiritual light on its fleshy wings as it withstood the arrow.

Unexpectedly, the water arrow directly shattered the spiritual light, piercing a hole the size of a human head in the fleshy wing. The bat beast cried out in pain, almost throwing the Lin Household siblings off its back.

The slender-waisted female cultivator was also surprised by the power of Ye Yaoling's Water Arrow Technique, as the latter's attainments in this art were quite profound, at least reaching the Great Completion stage.

Unbeknownst to her, ever since the Heng Mountain Ye Household was destroyed by Zhao Gu and his bandits, the beautiful female cultivator before her had been diligently studying every day.

In a short period of time, Ye Yaoling's Water Arrow Technique transformed from merely wetting the boots of bandits into a deadly weapon capable of severely injuring late-stage cultivators.

It's easy to imagine how much effort Ye Yaoling put in.

In fact, among all the figures in the Chongming Sect, there are very few who can surpass Ye Yaoling in the art of water magic.

"There are thieves in this river!" Several powerful jets of water shot out from the river again, startling the Changning Sect nearby, causing them to move even further away from the underground river.

Screams erupted from the cave, but no one came to the aid of the Lin Household siblings who had been bitten.

Several Changning Sect nearby tried to find another way to escape, but at that moment, several Qi Refinement cultivators suddenly appeared in the river and blocked them all, preventing anyone from escaping smoothly.

This unexpected turn of events infuriated the slender-waisted woman, who gritted her teeth and drew her flying sword. She had only been fighting against Ye Yaoling's various water-based magical techniques for a short while when...

The protective barrier at the cave entrance had already been breached by the enemy, and Chu Huer and Ye Zhengwen led a squad of Thief-Catching Office to storm in.

These patrolmen were not as skilled as the elite Changning Sect, but they had cooperated for many years and had a tacit understanding.

After entering the cave, without Chu and Ye giving any orders, the bandits spontaneously formed groups of three or five and surrounded one of the bandits.

These patrolmen didn't expect to kill the thieves on the spot; as long as they could hold them off and wait for the powerful leaders to finish them off, they would consider it a success.

"Don't let a single one escape!" Chu Huer's unicorn bronze figure emitted a seven-colored spiritual light again, scraping off a large patch of Hardness skin from the Black-Haired Zombie of a Changning Sect.

The unicorn bronze man did not stop, slamming heavily onto the ten blood-stained sharp claws of the Black-Haired Zombie that lunged at him.

After the clang of metal clashing, the Black-Haired Zombie's wrists were smashed and twisted, leaving two or three dark knuckles with fingernails on the ground. The unicorn bronze man was also knocked back into Chu Huer's hands.

The Changning Sect disciple frowned. Although the person in front of him was not weak, he was not afraid of him much. It was just that the situation was not good now, otherwise he might have stayed to compete with him.

Ye Zhengwen used the Yellow Ruyi to dodge the spirit beast wolf of another Changning Sect. Seeing that Chu Huer's opponent was about to run away, Ruyi turned around and released eighteen more beams of mysterious light to cut off his retreat.

The Changning Sect was decisive. Seeing this, he simply put the Black-Haired Zombie in front and ran away without looking back. But as soon as he took a step, several thorns, one or two feet long, suddenly sprouted from the ground beneath his feet and tightly bound his legs.

The Changning Sect disciple was terrified. He used his hand as a knife and slashed through the air, breaking most of the thorns in half. Before he could even rejoice, the thorns that had just broken off grew back rapidly, binding his entire thigh again, and then showing a tendency to spread to his whole body.

His reaction was slower this time. The thorns on the brambles easily cut through the socks and trousers, and in just a few breaths, they had scraped the lower half of the Changning Sect's body so badly that there was hardly a piece of good flesh left.

Minor external injuries were one thing, but the gradual loss of sensation at the wound site terrified him.

After hastily taking a few detoxifying pills, before he could even break free of the thorns, Chu Huer's one-legged bronze figure had already overturned the Black-Haired Zombie he had left to cover his retreat.

With no obstacle in front of Ye Zhengwen, Huang Ruyi easily arrived above the head of the Changning Sect. Another beam of mysterious light descended, and the latter could not dodge it. His entire head was blasted apart by this beam of mysterious light.

Upon seeing this, Kang Rongquan raised his hand and flicked it, instantly stripping the spiritual light from the few thorns on the ground, turning them into seeds that fell back into his hand.

There were only twelve elite members of the Changning Sect in the cave. Two or three of them were quick enough to escape, while the slower ones were trapped inside.

The patrolmen did their best to maneuver and surround the area, waiting for Ye Zhengwen, Chu Huer, and Kang Rongquan to come together to make the final decision.

Using this method of elimination, the few remaining cultivators in the cave were all killed in the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

Even the slender-waisted female cultivator who had been dealing with Ye Yaoling met the same fate; Kang Rongquan smashed half of her body with his silver ring Law Artifact, and she died on the back of the bat beast along with the narrow-eyed man.

Apart from the two who initially escaped from the cave, all the other disciples of the Changning Sect were executed.

Among the patrol officers of the Chongming Sect, only three were killed and two were injured, but the wounded were not seriously injured. One of the sect's disciples was injured, namely Sun Fu, who insisted on coming along and was eager for revenge. He rushed too far ahead when besieging the Changning Sect disciples and was bitten twice by the enemy's spirit beast, leaving several long bloody marks on his stomach.

Fortunately, although Sun Fu's injuries looked terrible, they were only external wounds and not serious, Chongming Sect still came out ahead overall.

Ye Zhengwen summoned Kang Rongquan, Ye Yaoling, and other disciples from his sect. After confirming that none of them were injured, he went to instruct his patrolmen to clean up the cave.

Before they could even rest, Yuan Jin returned, carrying the head of the pot-bellied man with an indifferent expression. He whispered to Ye Zhengwen, "This scoundrel is quite skilled, and he's also willing to sacrifice his reputation. After a few exchanges, he realized he was no match and turned to run, which is why it took some effort to catch him."

"Brother Yuan's 'White Ape Scripture' must have improved again," Chu Huer praised. Although he didn't recognize the pot-bellied man leading the group, he had experienced Ge Yangwei's skills firsthand. Since they were of the same status, their methods were naturally not much different.

But Yuan Jin was able to kill the pot-bellied man and bring back his head in such a short time.

This strength is truly terrifying. Even if I, Ye Zhengwen, and Kang Rongquan were to combine our strength, we would probably be no match for him. In the entire Cloud Horn Prefecture, there are probably very few Qi Refinement cultivators who can rival his ferocity.

"Hurry up. According to the information from the Dragon Beast Master yesterday, Golden-Feathered Owl also discovered a low cliff where thieves from the Changning Sect might be hiding. Once we've finished dealing with that, let's go check it out again in one go."

Ye Zhengwen shouted at the group of patrolmen who were searching the area.

As expected, when Ge Yangwei and his group were captured, they all thought they were the first team sent by the Changning Sect to be placed near the Chongming Sect.

However, after the Dragon Beast Master's group of Golden-Feathered Owl patrolled day and night, they actually found two places that seemed to be hiding Changning Sect.

This is not to say that Ge Yangwei and the others lied, but rather that the higher-ups of the Changning Sect did indeed tell them this before they left the sect.

The purpose was to confuse the public. If Sect Leader Kang Da hadn't become suspicious and had only listened to Ge Yangwei and his group's one-sided story, who knows how long the people in the cave would have remained hidden before being discovered by the Chongming Sect.

Ye Zhengwen organized the team and led them toward the low cliff.

The other low cliff was a bit far away. The group of cultivators traveled by flying boat for about half an hour. Yuan Jin released a high-grade mechanical puppet, a gift from Ingenious Craftsman Fort, to scout ahead, only to find the place deserted.

"We're too late!" Chu Huer sighed. He was in dire need of Merit Points to exchange for Foundation Establishment spiritual items, and he was eager to lead his patrolmen to fight these traitors from the Changning Sect a few more times.

"Junior Brother Chu, don't be impatient. There's plenty of fighting to come." Yuan Jin turned to Kang Rongquan and the others and said softly, "We originally brought the kids out to see more blood. Last time they were too young and might have been confused when they went into battle. We really can't let that happen again."

Ye and Chu both nodded in agreement upon hearing this. The Chongming Sect had risen too quickly, and its foundation was still far inferior to that of established sects that Foundation Establishment for many years.

The disciples were all young and had not yet matured. Even Kang Rongquan, who had the best aptitude, had not yet reached the Late Qi Refinement. With such strength, it would be somewhat difficult for them to go to the battlefield against the Changning Sect.

That's why he took this opportunity to bring them here to wipe out the bandits. Otherwise, Jiang Qing alone with his sword would have already cleared out these suspicious places. Why would they need to go through all this trouble?

Yuan Jin calculated that it would be within the next day or two before the leaders of the various factions of the New Cloud Alliance came to the Chongming Sect to discuss the conquest.

Even after the Sect Leader Kang Da reached the Foundation Establishment, his skill in social maneuvering had not diminished in the slightest. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to find a good job for the Chongming Sect disciples that is far from the battlefield.

"I think the eldest brother should be able to do it."

(Thank you for your support!)

(My cold has worsened, and I have a terrible headache. I'll postpone the monthly pass thank-you update to tomorrow. Thank you again!)