Chapter 49: No Longer the Same
Chapter 49: No Longer the Same
The two Ghost Cultivators ended up with one dead and one crippled.
The Ghost Cultivator whose limbs were severed let out a miserable scream as the Zhu Residence retainers directly destroyed his Spiritual Power Pool. He was then dragged before Lu Hangzhi like a dead dog.
Only at this moment did the Ghost Cultivator truly recognize Lu Hangzhi’s real identity.
A fifteen-year-old Inner Sect Disciple of the Xuanxin Sect.
The black-robed man’s eyes were filled with fury and venom. He wailed incessantly, “My master will avenge me! Just you wait, wait for the Jiuyou Yellow Spring to descend upon the Xuanxin Sect’s mountain gates… Kill me!!”
Lu Hangzhi was completely unmoved. He slowly lifted his eyelids and said,
“Tell me where my senior sister is, and I’ll give you a quick death. Otherwise…”
“Hahaha… Fine, your senior sister is in Deer City right now. If you have the guts, go find her! Go on! Hahaha! Hahaha…”
The black-robed man seemed to imply something. As he spoke, he suddenly burst into hysterical, mad laughter as if he had lost his mind.
“Deer City?”
A flicker of unease passed through Lu Hangzhi’s eyes.
Senior Brother Leng had headed towards Deer City some time ago and should have arrived by now. For the black-robed man to arrogantly claim that Sister Fuqin was in Deer City, could it be…
That the Yellow Spring Demon’s lair was in Deer City?
“Oh no!”
Lu Hangzhi’s brow furrowed. He opened his mouth and shot out a Tongue Sword, piercing through the black-robed man’s skull and simultaneously obliterating his soul. Then, he stood up quickly.
The Yellow Spring Demon was not an opponent that Senior Brother Leng could handle alone.
He had to return to the sect as quickly as possible and report this to his Master.
He immediately instructed the Zhu Residence retainers to closely monitor everything in Feng Yong’s residence, to be highly vigilant and ready at all times. He himself mounted a Divine Crane and turned back towards the sect.
Screech!
The Divine Crane soared through the clouds.
Lu Hangzhi’s expression was grave; he did not dare to slack off in the slightest.
Unexpectedly…
Upon returning to the sect, he learned from Senior Brother Xiong Qi that Master Chen Ji had suddenly led a group of True Disciples away from the sect several hours earlier. It seemed they had gone in the direction of Deer City, and they had taken Senior Brother Lü Liang and Sister Nangong Jun with them.
“Huh? Master has already gone to Deer City? Could it be…”
“Exactly. Actually, last time when Master led the team to surround and eliminate the Yellow Spring Demon and his Ghost Cultivators, because the main target, the Yellow Spring Demon, escaped, the True Disciples who participated in that mission have been on standby ever since. Master personally prepared a Long-distance Message Talisman. Leng Wuya probably detected the Yellow Spring Demon’s presence and notified the sect for support.”
“…”
Lu Hangzhi immediately felt a heavy weight lift from his heart.
Since Master had already gone to Deer City with others ahead of time, Senior Brother Leng was likely fine.
These old demons and True Disciples… none of them were simple…
He had thought that by catching Liu Tao and Feng Yong, he had grasped the trail of the Yellow Spring Demon and his Ghost Cultivators, finding a clue. He never expected that Senior Brother Leng had seen through the Yellow Spring Demon’s plans at a glance, and even Master had prepared everything months ago, waiting for the Yellow Spring Demon to reappear.
When Senior Brother Leng Wuya mentioned the Whistling Arrow to him, it was probably because he didn’t want him involved in a mission of that level, just finding any excuse to send him away.
Sigh.
Thinking of this, Lu Hangzhi couldn’t help but smile:
These guys, you just had to admire them!
But…
He guessed that Senior Brother Leng and Master probably didn’t know that he, staying in the rear, had also gained quite a bit:
Not only did he seize Feng Yong’s belongings and obtain the Magical Artifact Honeycomb that the Yellow Spring Demon had arranged for Feng Yong to hold, but he also killed two Fourth Grade Ghost Cultivators…
These Fourth Grade Ghost Cultivators were experts at robbing and plundering, doing business without capital. The items in their Qiankun Pouches were much richer than Feng Yong’s family assets.
Three Soul Pearls, thousands of Spirit Stones, Blood Qi Pills, Talismans, and Spiritual Artifacts added up to an even greater value.
More importantly.
He gained valuable combat experience and developed a more objective and clearer understanding of his own strength.
The Seven-Seven Sword Formation truly lived up to its name as a Superior-Grade Spell Technique. He hadn’t even mastered it yet, only achieving One Thought, Four Actions, yet dealing with two Fourth Grade Ghost Cultivators was effortless. He didn’t use his secret weapon, the Mirror Spirit Cat, or any Magical Artifacts throughout the entire fight…
“With my current strength, dealing with ordinary Fifth-Grade Cultivators is not a problem.”
Lu Hangzhi felt a small thrill of excitement.
There was a time when he was completely powerless against Fourth Grade Ghost Cultivators, barely able to protect himself with the Magical Artifacts given by his Master, senior brothers, and sisters. Now, he could easily kill two powerful Fourth Grade Ghost Cultivators without relying on those external items.
After the excitement faded, Lu Hangzhi knew that this operation against the Yellow Spring Demon would likely have nothing to do with him again. He could only pray in his heart for Sister Fuqin’s safe return, then collect his thoughts and return to his residence.
Although this battle was easy, Lu Hangzhi also identified some issues with his practice of the Seven-Seven Sword Formation.
If he could correct them, the Flying Sword could display even greater power in his hands.
On the third day, Master finally returned to the sect with the others.
According to Senior Brother Lü Liang’s account, because the deployment was timely and the action sudden, the Yellow Spring Demon finally couldn’t escape unscathed this time!
Not only did he lose an arm under the joint attack of Master Chen Ji and a group of True Disciples, but they also chased him for a thousand miles. He was finally forced to use the Blood Escape Technique, which severely damaged his vitality, to flee far away and disappear.
“What? He still wasn’t killed?”
“What do you think?”
Lü Liang said grumpily, “That Eighth-Grade old demon fought head-on with Master for a long time without losing ground. If we hadn’t forced him out of the crowded area beforehand, the outcome would still be unknown. But Master said that using the Blood Escape Great Technique causes the loss of half of one’s Blood Origin and vitality. Even if he finds a place to settle down, his cultivation will drop to around Sixth Rank. He won’t pose a threat to the Xuanxin Sect for several years.”
So intense!
Lu Hangzhi was startled to hear it; he hadn’t realized the Yellow Spring Demon was already an Eighth-Grade Cultivator!
“But…”
At this point, Lü Liang’s tone changed, and a pained expression appeared on his face as he said,
“During the fight with the Yellow Spring Demon, Master was also injured. I’m afraid it will affect his ability to refine a Magical Artifact for Sister Jun. We can only compromise and have Sister Jun exchange for some relatively stronger Magical Artifacts from the other Elders in the sect.”
Hearing this, Lu Hangzhi’s mood plummeted.
Magical Artifacts were rare to begin with; even among the sect’s Elders, they weren’t common. It was uncertain how many would be willing to exchange.
“And Sister Jun?”
“She went back into seclusion.”
Lü Liang forced a smile and said,
“Don’t look so down. At least we managed to rescue your Sister Fuqin this time.”
Alright.
Lu Hangzhi’s mood finally improved slightly.
That was the second piece of good news he had heard today.
But whenever he thought about Sister Jun going to the dangerous Two Realms Mountain in two months, he just couldn’t feel happy.
“Forget it.”
Seeing Lu Hangzhi like this, Lü Liang also felt some regret and racked his brains to change the subject. “At worst, I’ll give that Spirit Fox, the one best at escaping, to Sister Jun. At least it’s some help, showing we care. You should also prepare a gift for Sister Jun… I’ve heard that the Two Realms Mountain consumes a lot of resources. Preparing a few thousand Essence Spirit Fruits for Sister Jun would be quite good.”
“Huh?”
Lu Hangzhi’s heart stirred. He thought of the ten bottles of Spirit Honey he had just sealed in his Qiankun Pouch. His eyes gradually lit up, and he jumped up excitedly, saying,
“Great! Senior Brother, I’ve thought of what gift to give Sister Jun! Thank you, Senior Brother! Haha…”
Lü Liang: “…”
“But ten bottles seem too few. Three years… I need to prepare more… Yes, that’s it! Senior Brother, I won’t keep you company any longer. I’m off.”
Leaving Lü Liang alone in bewildered silence, Lu Hangzhi hurried back to his room and began frantically brewing Spirit Honey.
He used up all the spiritual materials from Feng Yong and the Ghost Cultivators’ Qiankun Pouches in one go. The Spirit Honey increased by another twenty-two bottles before Lu Hangzhi slowly stopped.
“Giving thirty bottles of Spirit Honey to Sister Jun should be enough. I’ll keep the remaining two for myself.”
With the gifts prepared, Lu Hangzhi wasn’t in a hurry to give them to Sister Jun—after all, there was still plenty of time, two whole months. He could give them to her just before she left.
With this worry off his mind, his mood naturally improved.
Lu Hangzhi once again immersed himself in self-forgetful cultivation, gradually mastering “One Thought, Four Actions.”
As they say, the further you go, the more intricate and precise the control becomes, and the cultivation speed slows down accordingly.
But whenever he thought back to the battle at the Zhu Residence in Violet Cloud Town, Lu Hangzhi felt that all this effort was worthwhile. So he cast aside all distracting thoughts and devoted himself wholeheartedly to his cultivation.
During this time, Sister Zhu Fuqin specially visited to thank him for his assistance in Violet Cloud Town. Lu Hangzhi spent some time with her but then resumed his cultivation, asking Lü’e and Cong Fang to attend to Sister Fuqin on his behalf.
Zhu Fuqin didn’t mind at all.
The battle at Violet Cloud Town made her fully recognize Junior Brother Hangzhi’s strength and clearly understand the gap between them.
According to what her retainers said, Lu Hangzhi could already single-handedly kill two Fourth Grade Ghost Cultivators. Among the Inner Sect Disciples of the Xuanxin Sect, that meant—he could hold his own.
She knew very well the status an Inner Sect Disciple would attain once they began to hold their own.
A True Disciple!
Deputy Sect Leader Chen Ji had his reasons for taking a liking to Lu Hangzhi.
Lu Hangzhi had only been in the Inner Sect for a few months, yet he had advanced rapidly to Fifth Grade Cultivation and possessed the ability to hold his own. His talent and aptitude were stronger than the previous disciples Chen Ji had taken on. Naturally, she would no longer treat him with the perspective of nurturing a junior.
Before leaving, Zhu Fuqin gave each of Lü’e and Cong Fang a Qiankun Pouch containing a small amount of Spirit Stones and three Third Grade Art Technique manuals. The two girls were overjoyed.
Lu Hangzhi did not stop this.
If he hadn’t intervened in Violet Cloud Town, the Zhu Residence would have existed in name only. Accepting these gifts was nothing.
Moreover.
Even if Zhu Fuqin hadn’t given the two girls the Art Technique manuals, he would have found suitable opportunities to select some appropriate Art Technique manuals for them at the Marketplace, so that one day they too could become formal disciples of the Xuanxin Sect.
Now it was perfect.
Zhu Fuqin had taken care of some trivial matters in his personal life, settling some of the concerns in his heart…
With the yard full of Essence Spirit Fruits and Purple Bamboo Spirit Bamboo Shoots, it was only a matter of time before Lü’e and Cong Fang entered the Inner Sect.
Lu Hangzhi smiled slightly, vaguely sensing that his mind had broadened, and his thoughts were flowing smoothly. Then, he faintly perceived that he himself… seemed to have touched the edge of One Thought, Five Actions.