Chapter 71, Trouble in the South

Translator: Tamon

 

Sect Leader Shen Qingzhu was up barking orders. “All the Elders and disciples are to search the mountain for those demons. Find them at all costs!”

 

Everyone scrambled to obey.

 

Out of sight, the girls had other preoccupations, fearful of the implications.

 

“If a Golden Core Ancestor almost died facing a demon, how would we fare any better?”

 

“Nope, uh-uh, there’s no way we can take those two on.”

 

“Since we can’t disobey, we’ll fake it.”

 

Unlike any other sect, Augury Sect’s disciples never saw combat. And why would they, when they could breeze through cultivation with the Augury Art? Why would they spoil a good thing?

 

Particularly in today’s society, being desperate was uncharacteristic of them, hypocritical, and laughable.

 

All of these led to a minority of members actually committed to the search.

 

The sentiment was prevalent from elders to the lowest disciple.

 

As they entered the woods, the groups of girls didn’t look to be out on a hunt but sightseeing.

 

…

 

Three days had passed, and Augury Sect’s news shook all of Chu Kingdom’s southern area.

 

Mysterious demons slipped into Augury Sect to rob it of pills, and despite their 5th Ancestor hunting them down, it was she who ended up hurt to an inch of her life.

 

The people didn’t know what to think.

 

First, was the death of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, which was already a big shock in itself, and now a Golden Core demon outside of Dao? What was the southern area coming to?

 

An evil Golden Core cultivator held the power to erase sects!

 

That wasn’t even half of it.

 

The 5th Ancestor said the demon was behind Ancestor Ban Shan’s grave robbery, turning the corpse into a puppet to showcase such power.

 

…

 

For the first time in its stable history of five hundred years, the Shifting Mountain Sect was outraged.

 

“I want to make mincemeat out of that vile hellspawn!”

 

“Up the reward on its bounty by ten times!”

 

“Recover Ancestor’s body!”

 

The Shifting Mountain Sect took the demon search as their top priority, sending all its elders and disciples to scan the southern area’s forests. No dog or snake was spared.

 

In the case of the Unfettered Sect, another sect with a rich history, though only going as far as three centuries, had lost ten disciples in a botched mammoth hunt. According to Hua Yuntian, it was that Earth Spike-knowing demon that did it.

 

“I want that thing dead! Take revenge for our disciples!”

 

“Kill the demon!”

 

The sect took it as their main priority, sending many search parties.

 

The Prophetic Sect, the only one unaffected, joined the demon hunt as well.

 

As for the Snake Catchers Sect, the leading sect over the southern area,

Xuan Yangzi laughed in his cave as it dawned on him why his avatar died.

 

“One dog and one snake, ha-ha-ha. Things are getting interesting.”

 

The Snake Catchers Sect set up a bounty, offering a hundred thousand contribution points and two hundred spirit stones for any information and three hundred thousand contribution points along with five hundred spirit stones for their deaths.

 

Now that’s a sky-high bounty, enough to lure outsiders to join the search.

 

The hunt was on, to a scale the likes of which the southern area had never seen before.

 

…

 

An official boat rode the winds as it sailed through the wild gusts of the Drifting Geese River. A middle-aged man in lavish clothes sat below deck, sipping wine. “Ancestor Ban Shan? Puppet?

 

“Ha-ha, I’m curious, just which genius trained my sect’s puppet art to such a degree? I might take him under my wing.”

 

…

 

After the wildfire burned all vegetation in this part of the southern area, it really opened up the place, simplifying the following work on the land.

 

The terrain was flattened, with scattered peaks around, standing like vigilant sentinels across the land.

 

Carpenters, bricklayers, and other mortals were hard at work shaping the plains for this sectarian hub; starting with the roads.

 

Two months since the Snake Catchers Sect settled on this spot for their next branch, the city had taken shape. The many buildings, pavilions, outer zone, inner zone, herb gardens, spirit fields, plaza, and other essential facilities were filled with construction sites. At this rate, the place would be finished in half a year.

 

Faster, if cultivators were involved, but no cultivator would be caught dead doing menial tasks, not to mention it was a waste of Spiritual Energy. So they had mortals take on the heavy lifting while they set up the arrays and other reinforcements on the buildings.

 

A few 1st and 2nd layer Qi Refining laborers were directing the workers.

 

Zhao Wenzhuo was the head foreman, most familiar with this work.

 

He was in his cave, holding a compass, the divining Heaven’s Will Compass, a precious item of his master.

 

Next to him were some snake bones and worn magic items.

 

He bought this stuff from his trip to Qin Kingdom’s River Town, the sold ill-gotten haul of Hei Huang.

 

Learning of the theft of Xuan Yangzi’s avatar’s storage bag, he anticipated the culprit’s plan to fence the stolen goods in the Qin Kingdom. Asking and looking around on his way to River Town, he was rewarded with clues.

 

He also discovered the disappearance of Sky Effigy Sect’s disciples sent to River Town.

 

Correlating this event with the Augury Sect’s recent disturbance of many puppets showing up, the logic was plain to see.

 

“These clues should be enough for the bounty.” Zhao Wenzhuo took a deep breath, his eyes shining.

 

Two months ago, Zhao Wenzhuo found clues for the culprit search but stayed his hand since the bounty was too thin.

 

Now, however, was his best bet.

 

“Still, I can’t shake the feeling that a huge storm is brewing. Even the divination foretells disaster.”

 

Zhao Wenzhuo turned to the compass with a shaking head. “Regardless, I’m leaving after I get my reward. The danger has nothing to do with me.”

 

…

 

Xu Hei had been dreaming a long dream.

 

He saw himself entering a pigpen and feasting on pigs when he met the self-proclaimed immortal Chen Fan.

 

The dream continued and he found himself praying in a Mountain God Shrine to rid himself of Chen Fan’s remnant thoughts.

 

One by one, his every experience ran through his mind like a movie.

 

Until the battle he had with He Luohua, where he blacked out from the heavy wounds.

 

“Junior, do you think yourself weak?”

 

An image formed in Xu Hei’s mindscape.

 

Xu Hei flinched and stared at a floating cauldron, particularly the Flood Dragon surrounding its outside.

 

He noticed the voice came from the Flood Dragon carving.

 

“Senior, who…” Xu Hei began.

 

“It doesn’t matter who I am. To become stronger, you need to form your foundation. Do that and I shall explain everything.

 

“But your cultivation method is lacking.”

 

The disembodied voice said as the Demon God Cauldron rotated to make the Flood Dragon’s eyes stare at him.

 

“Lacking?”

 

Xu Hei asked, “Senior, could you impart the complete cultivation method?”

 

“The full cultivation method is within yourself. Others can’t help you; only you can understand it.”

 

The Demon God Cauldron flashed and shot into Xu Hei’s forehead.

 

“Descendant, do well and understand it!

 

“Your path is untold times harder than anyone else’s. But walking on it will make you just as strong!

 

“Remember, the key to understanding is defiance.”

 

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