Chapter 48: Meeting the Clan Chief, the Three Reunite...
After killing the evil cultivators with a single sword strike, Chang Yubai had nothing to do and couldn't figure things out, so he simply picked up a tree branch and poked at the corpses of the evil cultivators to pass the time.
"Your cultivation is mediocre, your concealment skills are mediocre, and you're eavesdropping so openly. Haven't you heard of my great name?"
"Where do you think these heretical cultivators came from?"
Chang Yubai muttered to himself in a very low voice.
Unexpectedly, Li Qingyun continued his words: "Suoying County, then."
All the troubles pointed to the trouble in the county of Suoying. Who else but this place likes to stir up trouble and recruit evil cultivators?
After all that has happened, it would be a joke for Saoying County to still claim innocence.
Chang Yubai looked up at him and asked, "You're back?"
"I'm back."
"Faster than expected." Chang Yubai was referring to Li Qingyun going to find the last few Yuan Shen ginseng alone.
Li Qingyun didn't seem to mind, explaining, "I've found the trick, so it's naturally much faster to collect them now."
The original essence is something that fell off his own body, so how could it overstep its original form and act arrogantly?
Chang Yubai was unaware of this matter. He frowned slightly, not quite understanding why Xiaoyun spoke so casually.
Even in his previous life, when he accompanied his master to the Forest of Ten Thousand Spirits to dig for this ginseng, his master didn't just wave his hand and easily finish it. Instead, he let his legs almost break before leisurely coming down to play with the ginseng together.
Venerable Qingyun, a Venerable Martial Realm expert, how could he be inferior to a twenty-year-old High Martial Realm Xiaoyun?
Chang Yubai felt that something was not quite right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It couldn't be that Venerable Qingyun was encouraging him not to be discouraged, but was actually just deliberately not paying attention and wanted to see him make a fool of himself by chasing after Benyuan Ginseng.
The more he thought about it, the more the thought lingered. Chang Yubai's brows furrowed even more tightly, and the force with which he poked the corpse with the branch in his hand unconsciously increased.
Ultimately, he had no idea what the thing he was digging up actually was, or what use it would have once it was unearthed.
His master didn't mention it in his past life, and Xiaoyun is also keeping quiet about it in this life, leaving him all alone, unable to guess what it was all about, which was really driving him crazy.
Seeing Chang Yubai constantly rummaging through the corpses lying on the ground without stopping, Li Qingyun assumed that Chang Yubai was still blaming the evil cultivator for being blind and had anger that he couldn't vent.
After thinking it over, Li Qingyun suggested that they hand over the evil cultivator's corpse to Elder Quanquan.
The intrusion of evil cultivators into the Forest of Ten Thousand Spirits is no small matter, and Quanquan has no reason to ignore it. Even if someone tries to stop it, given the gravity of the situation, it will eventually reach the Great Clan Chief.
Even if the patriarch doesn't like managing the tree domain, he will have to intervene sooner or later.
Chang Yubai agreed, nodded, casually flicked the branch in his hand, clapped his hands, and prepared to take the corpse to Muqiong County to find someone.
They didn't talk much, but it happened to be a coincidence.
Before Chang Yubai could collect the body, he turned his head and looked in a certain direction.
Quan Quan had actually peeled away the leaves and appeared here.
Not only Quan Quan, but also several other cultivators dressed in Muqiong County followed behind, making quite a grand entrance.
But isn't this Shuque County?
"Are you going to arrest someone again?" Chang Yubai asked first.
Quan Quan gave an awkward laugh: "No, that's not it. I've already handed the thieves over to the clan leader. I've come here on another matter."
Then, Quan Quan's face showed some apology, and his attitude was respectful: "I wonder if it is convenient for Lord Bai Huang to come with me to see the clan leader?"
Meeting the clan chief? What a coincidence!
Chang Yubai was surprised. He had just finished talking about picking up the corpse and finding the person, and maybe he could hand it over to the clan leader. But now the clan leader of the Wood Spirit Clan wanted to see them.
After some deliberation, Chang Yubai felt that the two sides were probably not talking about the same thing.
Li Qingyun hesitated for a moment, then her attitude became firm: "I'm not going."
“We have no relation to him, why should we meet? Just say what you need to say.”
Li Qingyun wished he could plaster the word "disdain" on his face, as if he wasn't among those who had just discussed reporting the matter of the evil cultivator to the clan leader.
Chang Yubai nodded and stood on his disciple's side: "So what do you want with us?"
Quan Quan could only apologize, because he didn't know why the clan leader had suddenly decided to find Bai Huang.
He merely brought Xu He and his group of suspicious individuals before the clan leader, hoping that the clan leader would handle the matter impartially and punish the thief who had injured people in Muqiong County.
Logically, at this point, Quan Quan should have nothing to do with the matter anymore, but the clan leader asked how he subdued them. Anyone with eyes could see that those lying on the ground were all at the Xuanwu Realm level. Even if their spirits were locked, it wouldn't prevent them from sensing their cultivation level. But Quan Quan wasn't some kind of top-tier expert, so there was no reason for him to subdue so many high-level cultivators by himself.
Quan Quan broke out in a cold sweat and could only answer truthfully that Bai Huang had happened to pass by and helped him.
Then the clan leader asked him if Bai Huang's inseparable disciple, Li Qingyun, was there. He truthfully answered that she was, and the clan leader urged him to come here to find her.
Fortunately, the Great Clan Chief was able to sense the movements of every living being through the Giant Plant of All Spirits, which gave Quan Quan a clear path, preventing him from wandering around aimlessly like a headless fly.
After Elder Quanquan finished recounting these matters, he was still unsure whether the White Emperor would be willing to grant him this favor.
Regardless of what Chang Yubai thought, Li Qingyun was certainly not happy about it.
"Let him do it himself," Li Qingyun said irritably. "Why should we make the trip?"
Elder Quanquan could only laugh awkwardly and had no other answer.
He also wanted to persuade the clan leader to come in person... but the problem was that the situation on the clan leader's side was really quite unusual.
Thinking of the chaotic scene he witnessed at the clan chief's place, Quan Quan's cold sweat turned into hot sweat, and a sense of helplessness and bewilderment completely overwhelmed him.
Since he really didn't know how to describe it, Quan Quan could only give a stammering explanation: "Well, it's not convenient with the clan leader."
Li Qingyun: "?"
Li Qingyun was even more displeased: "Does it mean it's convenient for us just because it's inconvenient for him?"
"Inconvenient? How so?" Chang Yubai was mostly curious.
Quan Quan wiped away his cold sweat: "That's right, the clan leader has other guests with him and can't leave."
Li Qingyun: ? ? ?
Xiao Yun was just thinking of complaining to her master that the clan leader looked down on them, but when she turned her head, she unexpectedly met Chang Yubai's slightly excited expression.
Li Qingyun: ...
It's easy to guess that Master is getting excited.
Chang Yubai: Oh? Other guests? Can't leave?
Chang Yubai's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this, sensing a hint of gossip.
How could they miss such a great show? Master Chang immediately said no problem, they could set off right away.
But Quan Quan shouldn't be idle either; he can help carry the evil cultivator's corpse. They still need to tell the clan leader about the evil cultivator.
Quan Quan: ? ? ?
A heretical cultivator? So the cultivator lying on the ground like a dead dog wasn't an unlucky guy who fell asleep after being poisoned by a flower, nor was he a fool who was knocked unconscious as revenge for offending the White Emperor, but rather a heretical cultivator who absolutely could not possibly appear in the Tree Domain?!
Elder Quanquan carried the corpse in a daze, feeling that the weather in the Forest of Ten Thousand Spirits was changing too fast. A barrage of bad news was hitting him, leaving him completely confused.
...
The residence of the Wood Spirit Clan's chieftain did not belong to any prefecture. After passing through several specially structured Firefly Paths, they finally arrived at a place that resembled a secret garden.
Flowers, plants, birds, fish, squirrels, civets... countless creatures adorn this world.
Surprisingly, there were no towering trees here; all the plants and grasses were of normal size.
Chang Yubai followed the direction Quan Quan pointed and walked forward. He vaguely heard some noises and thought that the clan leader was waiting ahead.
He had often heard a person's voice before seeing them, but this noise today was really unusual.
"Let go! Let go! I promise I won't run away now, really!"
It was actually the sound of Li Hongyi struggling desperately?
Chang Yubai was eager to see some fun, so he quickened his pace, and his already bright eyes shone even brighter.
Li Qingyun: ?
Li Qingyun: "..."
Li Qingyun: "Tch, you're like a persistent ghost, aren't you?"
After not seeing Li Hongyi for a while, he had forgotten that the three of them had come to the Forest of Ten Thousand Spirits together. Li Qingyun was happily enjoying her time with her master, but now, this troublesome person had squeezed in again.
Li Qingyun's face immediately fell, but fortunately, since they were acquaintances, the meeting wasn't too embarrassing, and she didn't say anything even more unpleasant.
Li Hongyi looked at him with teary eyes as if he had seen a savior: "Brother, brother, you've come at the right time, save me!"
Unfortunately, Li Hongyi was bound like a caterpillar by a spirit-binding rope, and could only crawl towards Li Qingyun's direction, one pupa at a time.
Li Qingyun's face clearly showed her disgust: "That's good. Keep it up, try to die quickly so I can collect your corpse and leave sooner."
After hearing this, Li Hongyi immediately changed direction and headed towards Chang Yubai's pupa.
This time, however, he couldn't open his mouth. The chief of the Wood Spirit Clan had already pulled the ropes back and dragged him back.
Chang Yubai: "Pfft."
This is the first time I've seen Li Hongyi's car crash so badly; all his rushing was worth it.
Li Hongyi: "..." Now he can't count on anyone.
But Li Hongyi was not willing to give up. Her thick eyebrows and big, teary eyes stared straight at Chang Yubai, trying to evoke even a little bit of sympathy from this amused man.
But Chang Yubai is very happy now and doesn't really want to save him.
Chang Yubai patted his shoulder reassuringly, then turned around, found a seat, and started watching the drama unfold.
Li Hongyi: "...Hey, don't actually stand by and watch someone die."
“He’s not dead, is he?” Li Qingyun picked up a plant to use as a stool and sat down next to Chang Yubai.
His demonstration of this skill actually caught the attention of the clan leader.
After laughing enough, Chang Yubai explained to Li Hongyi, "No rush, we still have a bunch of important matters to deal with, so please wait here."
Li Hongyi didn't believe his nonsense. These two had entered the Forest of Ten Thousand Spirits like tourists. Although they had a purpose, it wasn't their main focus. What important matter could they possibly have? Or was "a bunch" used as an adjective?
However, the clan chief had something to say: "Indeed."
Li Hongyi: ? ? ?
So there really was something important going on!
"What happened? Let me hear it too." Li Hongyi knew without a doubt that something must have happened after he left Chang Yubai and the other man, but since he wasn't there, he missed out on a lot of information.
Seeing that he was also interested in participating, the chief of the Wood Spirit Clan followed Li Qingyun's example and used a plant as a chair to pull Li Hongyi up.
Then, the clan leader looked at Chang Yubai and said, "Greetings, Emperor Bai."
"This matter concerns the very foundation of the Tree Domain, and we hope that the White Emperor will grant our request."
"I have something important to discuss with you two, no, I have something to discuss with Fellow Daoist Li. I need to ask you two to separate for a few days."
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