In the middle of the market square, there is a white wall where sect disciples often take turns guarding. Many notices are posted on the wall, mostly about reward tasks. Most of the information is not clear, so only some will be sent to various sects after confirmation, while others can only rely on luck here.
Early this morning, someone was posting a notice here. The reward item seems quite precious, and it seems that the person behind it has no shortage of money. As the market gradually became crowded, more people gathered here to read the notices.
Three cultivators, two men and a woman, walked to the wall and looked at the reward notice, slightly surprised.
Among them, a young cultivator who looked handsome and gentle spoke first, “It’s actually a low-grade magic weapon in the form of a seal? According to what’s written here, its power can be up to several thousand kilograms when struck? If that’s true, it’s really rare.”
The female cultivator furrowed her eyebrows slightly, “But the person mentioned in this reward… is hard to find.”
Another male cultivator also frowned, “We haven’t been able to find that Taoist Ye for a long time now, and the talismans have also been sold out long ago. If we can’t come up with more money soon, won’t we be suffering like before? Brother Lu, Sister Yuan, should we think of a way to get this done first?”
These three are Lu Ming, Yuan Qin, and Lan Qiguang from the Shimen Sect who sold talismans for Ye Shu. At that time, they made a lot of silver by selling talismans and had plenty of resources for cultivation, thus advancing their strength. They even advanced further together because of the many elixirs they swallowed, becoming inner disciples!
However, it’s a pity that just when they were thinking about how to squeeze into the inner door, the inventory of talismans was sold out, and they couldn’t get any more. They also wanted to keep an eye on Ye Shu, who used to send talismans, but unfortunately, he no longer set up a stall, and they couldn’t find his whereabouts.
In this way, after their silver ran out, the progress in their cultivation, which had originally been advancing rapidly, came to a halt and reverted to its slow pace from before. Naturally, they were not willing to accept this, so from time to time, they would come out and wander around, hoping to meet that Ye Shu again — perhaps thinking that during this time, the person who made talismans afterward had stored some talismans? Unfortunately, they still did not encounter Ye Shu again, but here they saw such a reward notice, which might be helpful.
The reward content was simple, stating that they were looking for a male cultivator who was at the second level of Qi Refining a year ago. There wasn’t much other information, but the reward was very generous. They didn’t necessarily have to capture the person; they just needed to provide a trace and ensure they could meet him face-to-face, and they would receive an excellent low-grade magic weapon as a reward! Who wouldn’t want such a good thing?
While there were a total of three people, Lu Ming, Yuan Qin, and Lan Qiguang, one magical tool might not be enough to share. However, if they could capture the person alive, they could split the hundred thousand silver coins, and each could also try out the magic weapon, compensating each other. At worst, if they couldn’t use it, they could sell it, which would be a large sum of silver coins that could sustain their cultivation for a long time.
Therefore, after discussing it, they decided to inquire about it.
To cross from the cultivation world to the mortal world, they had to pass through a desert and a small town. If they wanted to know the whereabouts of the cultivator surnamed Li, they might get some information within that town…
Lan Qiguang glanced at the notice several more times and sighed, “Since they are willing to offer such a large sum of money, but they don’t even have the appearance of that cultivator, it’s naturally hard to find.”
He naturally didn’t know that when that cultivator surnamed Li dealt with the Lord’s Mansion, Yan Changlan didn’t clearly see the opponent’s appearance. When he was slapped out, he stared at the face of that cultivator surnamed Li, but because his face was covered in blood, he only vaguely saw the cold brows and eyes of the other party, and he couldn’t remember much more.
Lu Ming and Yuan Qin exchanged a glance, then took Lan Qiguang with them to inquire.
Now they had to hurry. They knew that with such a good task, many cultivators would certainly receive it. If they were one step late, they would be handing over a large sum of silver to others.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Qlat rb wjcs qfbqif, fnfc lo atf fzjma lcobgwjalbc kjr rmjgmf, atfs mbeiv ralii agjmx vbkc atja qfgrbc.
Ycf fnfclcu, rbwfbcf mjwf ab atf ajrx kjii jcv mjgfoeiis gfjv atgbeut atf cbalmf qbrafv atfgf. Coafgkjgvr, atfs aegcfv jgbecv jcv delfais ifoa atf jgfj.
This person was of average height with good agility. After weaving through several alleys, they arrived at a small courtyard.
In the courtyard, several people were already waiting.
Seeing this person return, one of the cultivators asked, “How was it? Is it the one we know?”
The returning cultivator answered in a low voice, “Looks like it. Just think about it, about a year ago, didn’t Li Ke have some important business to attend to? We were worried he was getting into trouble, so we sent Xiao Liu to follow him all the way. Turns out he was heading to the mortal realm, isn’t that so? Surname Li, a year ago, activities in the mortal realm, all match up. And this Li Ke is indeed a cultivator at the second-level Qi Refining… Moreover, after he came back, he was in a bad mood. Several times during hunting trips, he made frequent mistakes, even got scolded by the boss. Later, he was so upset that he simply left. Heard he has now attached himself to a disciple of some big sect’s outer door. There’s a great chance he’ll leave the rogue cultivator status behind and enter the sect… By then, even if he starts out as a menial worker, it’s still better than wandering outside…”
It’s not easy for a rogue cultivator to join a sect. First, their character might have been shaped by their experiences outside, making it difficult for them to be loyal to the sect. Secondly, most rogue cultivators have average aptitude, and it’s better to recruit young people with clean backgrounds as disciples into the sect.
In the past, unless a rogue cultivator could establish a good relationship with a disciple of the sect, and that disciple was willing to vouch for them and held a decent position within the sect, it was almost impossible for a rogue cultivator to join a sect. Li Ke was originally someone who joined them halfway, and now in a short period, the other party had such an opportunity. How could it not make these rogue cultivators envious?
Once they became envious, betraying him would be considered natural.
Moreover, before the betrayal, Li Ke had already left in a fit of anger, clearly not considering them as true friends in life and death. Therefore, when it came to betraying him, they naturally felt no guilt whatsoever.
Therefore, after discussing it, they decided to come up with a way to intercept Li Ke.
“The task is being publicized on the wall. We have to hurry up and find Li Ke quickly. Otherwise, if someone else gets ahead of us, it won’t be good.”
“I heard that the power of that seal is extraordinary. If we can get our hands on it, our hunting in the future will be safer. Li Ke has always looked down on us. Now, using his life to exchange for a few more chances of survival is worth it.”
“Be cautious and find out which disciple he has befriended and how deep their relationship is. Otherwise, if we offend a disciple of the sect after obtaining the item, we might not be able to get by…”
“What’s the worst that could happen? Once we have the goods, we can just go somewhere far away and live comfortably.”
“Brother San is right! As long as we have handy tools, where can’t we cultivate as wandering cultivators?”
“What’s there to fear? Look at the board with the seals of the three elders from the Baixiao Sect. Those three elders come from such a big sect, while the disciple Li Ke befriended is just an outer disciple. How can he compare to the elders? I think we don’t need to be afraid… Maybe the disciple Li Ke knows is just an outer disciple of the Baixiao Sect, so there’s even less to worry about.”
Then, there was another round of whispered conversation.
After making the decision, they rested briefly and planned to find Li Ke the next day.
…
Yan Changlan was practicing swordsmanship at the edge of the cliff. With the dual swords, one hand like flowing wind and the other like shocking thunder, he merged them after two moves. A great wind and faint strands of thunder continuously collided, overflowing with two terrifying powers. In the midst of this collision, there seemed to be a faint sign of fusion, which was extremely alarming.
However, they ultimately did not merge. After Yan Changlan sheathed his swords, he turned around and said, “Xiao Junior Brother, what is it?”
It turned out that Xiao Ming had been waiting on the side for a while. Yan Changlan noticed him and stopped practicing after completing one round.
Xiao Ming hurriedly replied, “Senior Brother, there’s news about that cultivator surnamed Li!”
Upon hearing this, Yan Changlan’s hand immediately tightened, and he looked sharply at Xiao Ming. A flash of hatred passed through his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and said calmly, “Please continue, Junior Brother Xiao.”
Xiao Ming didn’t miss that fleeting look in Yan Changlan’s eyes. His heart skipped a beat, but seeing that Yan Changlan was speaking to him as usual, he calmed down and said seriously, “The messengers bringing the news are several rogue cultivators. They had trained together with a cultivator whose features are similar to the description you provided for some time. Later, this cultivator surnamed Li had a falling out with them after befriending a disciple of a sect. When these cultivators saw the reward notice, they suspected that the cultivator surnamed Li might be the person you are looking for. After investigating, they came to report.”
Although Yan Changlan was focused on revenge, his temperament had calmed somewhat after spending a long time with Ye Shu. He responded calmly, “A disciple of a sect?”
Xiao Ming said, “It seems he’s a disciple of the outer sect of our Baixiao Sect.” He smiled faintly, “Those few rogue cultivators were originally somewhat apprehensive about offending sect disciples, but they don’t know that within the Baixiao Sect, who among the disciples can be more prestigious than Senior Brother?”
Yan Changlan interrupted him, “Be cautious in your words.”
Startled by Yan Changlan’s interruption, Xiao Ming suddenly realized he had gotten carried away and quickly composed himself, “Anyway, those rogue cultivators have confirmed the information and said they can immediately take us to find that cultivator surnamed Li.”
Yan Changlan sighed heavily, “Alright, let’s go.”
Xiao Ming felt relieved, “Senior Brother, please.”
—-
In a restaurant private room in the market district…
Six cultivators sat around a round table, looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy, whispering to each other with a serious atmosphere.
The youngest among them spoke up, “Brothers, is the owner of that notice board really coming? The person we saw earlier seemed to be a disciple of the sect?”
The oldest among them sighed with a bitter smile, “Not just a sect disciple, but Master Xiao is an inner sect direct disciple. According to him, the one in charge this time is his senior brother, an extraordinary genius. When we meet him later, remember to be careful with our words and not offend him.”
The other person gasped and said, “So he’s a direct disciple of a major sect. No wonder he can offer such valuable rewards. But if we succeed, would he…”
Someone else interrupted, “A major sect honors its promises; he shouldn’t.”
“But what if he decides to silence us to keep us from talking? Then the promise becomes irrelevant.”
“Don’t speak nonsense! There are many of us here, and our cultivation levels are not weak. Even if he’s an inner sect direct disciple, I don’t think he would risk silencing us recklessly…”
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
The group immediately fell silent, holding their breath and looking towards the door.
The next moment, the door swung open.
A middle-sized figure led the way, dignified in appearance. It was indeed the Baixiao Sect’s inner sect direct disciple, Master Xiao, whom they had seen before. Following closely behind him was a slightly taller, well-built man with a handsome face. From his sharp eyes, one could tell he had experienced battles and was a formidable individual in his own right.
So that’s… the senior brother behind all of this?
Indeed, fame is nothing compared to meeting in person.
The group dared not be negligent and stood up, bowing respectfully, “Hei Shan Liu Ye, greets the two direct disciples of Baixiao Sect.”
Thanks for the chapter 😍😍😍
Thanks for the chapter!!