Chapter 150 The Prosperous Sect sent one more person? Are you not satisfied with me? ...
"You!" Chong Jue stood up abruptly.
He immediately realized he had overreacted, and changed his tone, saying loudly, "How have you all been? It's been a while since I've seen you four young friends; you seem to be in good spirits."
He then turned to Ji Mingran with a leisurely air, like an elder who cares for his juniors, and said with concern, "Young friend Ji, you have advanced again. You are truly a prodigy."
Ji Mingran's gaze, however, fell on another person who was staring intently at him.
He smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Meng, it's been a long time. You've advanced as well."
Like her, he was also a Golden Core cultivator. It seems he was one of the disciples advancing in the Prize Pool Secret Realm.
Meng Yingyang stared at her, then looked away and said in a low voice, "Yes, Fellow Daoist Ji."
Ji Mingran frowned, sensing that something was off about Meng Yingyang.
In my memory, Meng Yingyang was always full of ambition. Even if he tried to restrain himself, his every move still revealed a bit of the arrogance of a great prodigy.
But now, contrary to his usual self, he stood silently beside Chongjue, his demeanor subdued and his presence barely noticeable. Compared to the other Hongqi Sect disciples who wore disdainful expressions, he stood out, making him easily spotted by Ji Mingran this time.
He has already reached the Golden Core stage and is not lagging behind the others, so why is he so depressed?
Not only her, but also Shen Qingluo, Zhu Shibai, and Guan Wangzhen, who had met Meng Yingyang in the spiritual cultivation competition, noticed something was amiss.
However, this is not something they need to worry about.
After exchanging perfunctory greetings, Ji Mingran said to Chongjue, "Venerable Chongjue, how have you been? I heard that you had a friendly exchange with my senior brother before. I imagine the scene must have been quite exciting. It's just a pity that the exchange ended sooner than expected. The four of us went traveling after the competition and missed the chance to watch."
Chongjue's smile deepened.
Everyone present knew perfectly well why the four of them were "traveling" and why he was "sparring" with Hongyan. Ji Mingran deliberately brought it up again, nothing more than a veiled sarcasm.
He even specifically mentioned that he hadn't been able to witness the sparring between the two Mahayana stage cultivators. If he had, they would have seen him leave midway and return to his sect while Hongyan wasn't paying attention.
It must have been Hongyan who told her about this.
Chongjue chuckled and said, "It is truly rare for Hongyan to take the time out of his busy schedule to exchange his insights on the techniques he gained in the secret realm with me. However, in a battle between Mahayana cultivators, I am afraid that you might accidentally injure each other. Compared to that, what you have gained from your travels is far more valuable."
Ji Mingran approached: "Indeed, I had a fortuitous encounter, which led to my advancement."
"Young friend Ji's luck is truly astonishing, which has even brought good fortune to Dingsheng Sect." She must have obtained the Spirit Essence Stone to have such good fortune. Chongjue's smile did not reach his eyes as he said, "Under young friend Ji's leadership, Dingsheng Sect not only won first place in the Spirit Cultivation Competition, but also restarted the Realm Gang Formation, which can be said to have swept away the gloom and been reborn."
He further emphasized, "Dingsheng Sect owes a great debt to our young friend Ji. Yuanliu, you must not mistreat her."
These words of congratulations and concern sounded rather unpleasant no matter how you listened to them.
Dingsheng Sect does indeed show signs of rising, but Chongjue's words make it sound like it's all thanks to Ji Mingran, as if Yuan Liu, as the sect leader, and the other peak masters, as the ancestors, including the other three disciples who participated in the Spiritual Cultivation Competition, did not contribute a single bit.
Attributing all the credit to one person, even if it is true, will certainly make others unhappy.
Chongjue is experienced and surely understands the principles involved.
He did it on purpose.
However, the wrinkles that appeared at the corners of the eyes faded a bit the next second.
The three disciples of Dingsheng Sect who came with Ji Mingran stopped a short distance from Yuan Liu and each found a chair to sit down.
They consciously sat in the lower seats.
Ji Mingran continued walking forward to Yuan Liu's side. Yuan Liu, who had been sitting, had already stood up. Seeing her come in, he pulled out a chair for her. After she sat down, Yuan Liu made her a cup of tea before turning around and sitting down himself.
Yuan Liu then replied, "Ah? I'm so sorry, I was distracted for a moment and didn't hear what you said clearly."
Ji Mingran's status and the treatment he enjoyed within the Dingsheng Sect were already crystal clear from the subconscious actions of these few people. Chongjue's instructions just now seemed superfluous.
"..." Chongjue: "It's nothing. Your clan has a very strong sense of kinship and gets along harmoniously. No wonder you were able to rise to prominence."
Yuan Liu humbly replied, "Venerable Chongjue is too kind."
Chongjue changed the subject: "The resurgence of Dingsheng Sect is excellent, excellent. In this encirclement and suppression operation, all sects responded actively and participated vigorously, sending a great many disciples. Now that Dingsheng Sect has recovered its strength, it must have the capacity to send even more people to participate. I wonder which other disciples Dingsheng Sect plans to send besides these four?"
Ji Mingran held the hot tea and glanced at Chong Jue, who was chatting and laughing as if nothing was wrong.
Oh, so this is taking advantage of the situation to try and get people.
In this campaign of encirclement and suppression, it was only natural for the Daoist Ten Cultivators, as a high-ranking and powerful sect in the spiritual cultivation world, to send a large number of disciples to participate in the operation. The other sects responded voluntarily and participated, providing assistance to the best of their ability.
The demonic cultivators ran rampant, targeting not only ordinary people and small sects and clans, but also medium-sized sects and clans. While small sects could still receive support from disciples sent by the ten cultivators of the Dao Sect, medium-sized sects and clans had to rely more on their own strength to resist the attacks.
Therefore, the disciples that these sects and clans were able to send to participate in the encirclement and suppression operations were all arrangements made based on their own self-defense, and neither their numbers nor their strength were the best choices.
The ten cultivators of the Dao Sect did not force the issue, but instead persuaded more sects and clans to join the organization and expand its ranks.
The reason why Dingsheng Sect has remained stable during the chaos of spiritual cultivation is mainly because the patriarchs of each peak have gathered to guard the sect, and Venerable Hongyan is renowned far and wide, so the demonic cultivators have not set their sights on them for the time being.
The news of the reactivation of the Dingsheng Sect's protective formation has now spread throughout the entire spiritual cultivation world. All cultivators know how powerful this formation is, and demonic cultivators will no longer provoke trouble.
Compared to other sects, Dingsheng Sect was indeed more composed in the face of this turmoil, but this did not mean that Dingsheng Sect had the spare capacity to send disciples to participate in the encirclement and suppression.
They lost their sect's heritage for three hundred years. The only people of considerable strength within the sect, including the sect leader, the peak masters, the stewards, and the four who had just advanced to the Golden Core stage—Ji Mingran, Shen Qingluo, Zhu Shibai, and Guan Wangzhen—were only about twenty people.
If we only consider the number of cultivators at the Golden Core stage and above, Dingsheng Sect doesn't even qualify as the smallest medium-sized sect.
If these people are taken away, and the sect encounters an accident, the remaining disciples will likely suffer.
The Daoist sect has a large number of cultivators at the Golden Core stage or above, and does not lack these few cultivators.
Therefore, Dingsheng Sect does not intend to send out more cultivators.
Yuan Liu was carefully choosing his words when the experienced Chong Jue preempted him, feigning surprise: "Does the Dingsheng Sect not intend to send anyone else?"
He frowned, as if considering the well-being of the Dingsheng Sect, and said, "But all spiritual cultivators know that the Dingsheng Sect is currently in a very good position. If we only send four disciples to participate because of the requirements of the Dao Sect's Ten Cultivators, it would be unreasonable. As for me, it's just that it's hard to silence gossip and rumors. The reputation of the Dingsheng Sect has finally improved, and it wouldn't be good to let it be affected by this."
Yuan Liu remained calm, his mind unmoved by Chong Jue's words.
Not only him, but even the four people who had just entered did not show the slightest hesitation.
Honestly, Dingsheng Sect has endured so much criticism over the years, and has withstood even more outrageous rumors. This little bit of criticism is nothing to Dingsheng Sect.
However, in order to protect the four disciples and to stop Chongjue from putting pressure on them, the peak masters of Dingsheng Sect had already come up with a solution.
Yuan Liu said calmly, "Rest assured, Your Excellency, we will send one more person to participate in the encirclement and suppression operation this time."
"One person?" Chongjue wondered if he had misheard.
Yuan Liu smiled and nodded, raising his index finger: "One person."
Chongjue expressed his dissatisfaction directly, his face darkening: "Are you kidding me? You can even say something like sending just one person."
Yuan Liu said calmly, "Venerable One, please do not be hasty. Dingsheng Sect will send a peak master to participate in the operation."
The master of a peak, even if he is only at the Nascent Soul stage in the Eastern Continent, is more powerful than hundreds of ordinary disciples.
Ji Mingran looked down without making a sound.
Shen Qingluo, Zhu Shibai, and Guan Wangzhen exchanged glances, asking each other which one it was, but judging from their expressions, they didn't seem to know either.
Chongjue stopped himself from pressuring the situation. Dingshengzong's actions were indeed flawless and left him with no room for criticism.
“In that case, I am relieved. The ten cultivators of the Dao Sect will certainly not forget the help provided by the Dingsheng Sect,” Chongjue said.
Having achieved his purpose, he had no reason to linger any longer. "The latest batch of cultivators participating in the encirclement and suppression operation will gather in the Desolate Continent. Please set off as soon as possible. We will go to Qing Continent to provide assistance."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, he rose to take his leave and led the group of Hongqi Sect disciples away.
As soon as he stepped out of the entrance of Yujing Hall, Chongjue's figure flashed and he disappeared.
The disciples of Hongqi Sect were clearly used to their sect leader abandoning them without a word, and they walked around Yujing Hall one by one without any surprise.
Once they were outside the Quanfeng area, the Quanfeng disciple of the Dingsheng Sect who had been leading the way told them the direction of the exit and then stopped following them. The Hongqi Sect disciples relaxed and began to chat.
One person complained, "Seeing Dingsheng Sect improve with my own eyes this time really makes me unhappy."
"If you ask me, it seems like our sect's bad luck started from the Spiritual Cultivation Competition's prize pool secret realm," another person replied.
"Do you remember? Back then, the rice, flour, and steamed buns in the sect's canteen disappeared without a trace, followed by all sorts of spiritual delicacies. Although it was a minor matter, the sect strengthened its guard. As a result, the Spirit Nourishing Pills in the Treasure Pavilion were also stolen, then the Soul Devouring Array was broken, and then there was a series of heavenly lightning strikes..."
"These things were probably done by the demonic cultivators who were lurking in our sect. At first, they tried to cover it up, but then they became more and more blatant."
"The problems we've encountered are getting worse and worse. Our sect's fortune has become so bad."
"It's just a minor accident, why are you so hesitant?" A female cultivator from the Hongqi Sect grabbed the disciple by the collar, dragged him in front of her, and scolded him, "Do you want to end up like Junior Brother Meng? Look at him, he's so distraught over such a small matter in the sect, he has no guts at all."
Despite being verbally and physically reprimanded, Meng Yingyang remained unfazed, simply walking with his head down as if he hadn't heard a thing.
The scolded disciple said shamefully, "Yes, yes, Senior Sister, I was wrong..."
After the Hongqi Sect disciples left, in a corner hidden by bushes in the distance, the four people who had been squatting in the corner slowly got up.
Guan Wangzhen brushed off the bits of grass stuck to his robe: "Hahaha, I'm happy to hear that Hong Qizong is in trouble."
He didn't laugh for long before letting out a scream of "Ouch!" and stumbled forward like a dog pouncing on its prey.
"Who! Who kicked me!" Guan Wangzhen cried out, clutching his buttocks.
Ji Mingran was stunned. She didn't even notice anyone approaching until Guan Wangzhen fell to the ground.
As if sensing something, Shen Qingluo's expression turned solemn. She turned around on the spot and respectfully bowed, saying, "Master."
Zhu Shibai's gentle and clear voice rang out next: "Uncle-Master Zhu."
The female cultivator carrying the red-tasseled spear slowly withdrew her leg, revealing her white teeth as she raised one corner of her mouth: "What are you four little brats doing, sneaking around here like this?"
"Reporting to Master, we were eavesdropping on the disciples of the Hongqi Sect," Shen Qingluo said honestly.
“We’re laughing at them!” Guan Wangzhen turned over and sat cross-legged on the ground.
Zhu Huo scoffed, "If you want to laugh at them, go ahead and stand in front of them. Don't be so shameful to sneak around in the back."
The tip of her red-tasseled spear flashed a silver light as she turned around: "Alright, enough nonsense. Since you're so bored that you're eavesdropping, it means you have nothing to pack. Since you have nothing to pack, let's set off now."
"Let's...depart?" The four looked at Zhu Huo in confusion.
“Yes, let’s go.” Zhu Huo turned around, raised an eyebrow and smiled: “I’m leading this encirclement. What? You’re not happy?”
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