Chapter 223 The Ruthless Senior Brother of the Path of the Path of the Cannon Fodder (Part Six) Heng Mo...
Heng Mo listened to Lin You's indignant rant about Xuan Ling for a full half hour before his initial fear and trepidation gradually subsided.
He didn't have the courage to say those words aloud, but he felt very relieved to hear them. The anger that had been building up inside him finally subsided. After thoughtfully pouring Lin You a cup of tea, he packed his things to go home.
The Seventh Elder gave him a lot of pocket money, including several hundred low-grade spirit stones, dozens of mid-grade spirit stones, a bunch of pills suitable for mortals, and a bunch of talismans that he had just given him.
Heng Mo had just entered the sect and lacked sufficient spiritual power, so he couldn't use a storage ring yet. Therefore, the Seventh Elder also gave him a portable storage bag and a storage box that could be placed in the room and sealed with a restriction, which only he could open.
Well, compared to someone who, when accepting disciples, simply stuffs them into an array to fend for themselves, subjecting them to wind, rain, thunder, lightning, swords, and halberds every day, and doesn't even give them a single low-grade spirit stone—that stingy person—the Seventh Elder is simply too considerate.
The Xuan Yang Sect has a special hall for completing sect missions, where disciples can post and accept missions.
Heng Mo directly offered a mid-grade spirit stone to hire a Foundation Establishment disciple to take him back to visit his family and exorcise demons for three days. A total of three slots were needed.
One mid-grade spirit stone can be exchanged for one hundred low-grade spirit stones, which is a huge sum of money even for a Golden Core cultivator. It was just a matter of taking someone home to visit relatives. Before Heng Mo could even react, his mission had already been taken by someone else.
One of them was an old acquaintance, Senior Brother Qingmu, the sect leader's chief disciple. Although he was only at the Golden Core stage, no one had stipulated that a Golden Core cultivator couldn't take on a Foundation Establishment stage mission.
Not being very familiar with market prices, Heng Mo glanced at Qing Mu several times, but ultimately swallowed his words and respectfully bowed, saying, "Heng Mo greets Senior Brother Qing Mu. Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother."
Demonic cultivators who cause trouble in the mortal realm are generally only at the Qi Refining stage, or at most the Foundation Establishment stage. Higher-level demonic cultivators are no longer interested in the flesh and blood of mortals.
Senior Brother Qingmu is at the Golden Core stage; with him around, this trip will definitely be fine.
The other two spots were snatched up by two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, both carrying swords, who then smiled smugly afterward.
Heng Mo didn't say anything more, but he gained a general understanding of the sect's financial situation and a basic concept of his master's wealth and power.
He remembered that when his master gave him so many spirit stones, he said it was a month's allowance.
Senior Brother Qingmu has returned his flying boat to the sect, but a smaller flying boat can still be rented. Ten low-grade spirit stones can be used to rent it for three days. This money should have been paid by the mission taker, but Heng Mo paid for it directly.
He's just started learning and his cultivation level is very low. He'll have to rely on the three of them when he goes back. As for Lin You, judging from how she always audits his classes, her cultivation level is probably, perhaps, or maybe not as high as he imagined.
Although it's unclear how she managed to keep it from Xuan Ling, judging from the fact that she gritted her teeth and wanted to beat him up every time she heard about him, but never actually did it, she must be no match for him.
Fear stems from the fear of harm and the unknown. During the month they spent together, Lin You had not shown any malice towards him, and at most, she had protected him. Heng Mo had long since stopped considering her a demonic cultivator.
The new flying boat was much smaller than the one Heng Mo had brought to the sect, but fortunately there were only 4+1 people, so they wouldn't be too slow if they went at full speed.
Senior Brother Qingmu was a very good driver, and they arrived in Anguo in two hours. From a distance, they could see a faint layer of demonic energy enveloping the area.
In the area where the demonic energy was most concentrated, two cultivators stood in mid-air on their swords, watching the demonic cultivators wreak havoc, but showed no intention of intervening.
Below them, a man dressed in the inner court was holding several low-grade spirit stones, kowtowing and begging them to help him, but the two cultivators remained unmoved.
Before Heng Mo could say anything, apart from Senior Brother Qingmu who was piloting the flying boat, the other two senior brothers attacked together.
A cold, long sword sliced through the sky, the figure emerging from the sea like a dragon, the sword's momentum like a rainbow, and in just a few moves, the rampaging demonic cultivator was cut down by the sword.
The other two cultivators, seeing that someone was trying to intercept them, were about to say something, but upon seeing the Xuan Yang Sect's attire, they wisely kept quiet.
Looking at the crisp and clean sword moves, Lin You sheathed his sword and couldn't help but sigh, "So you're a sword cultivator. No wonder you're so poor."
Heng Mo glanced at the long sword in her hand with a strange look, and followed Senior Brother Qingmu off the flying boat. Only then did he realize that the person on the ground, who was in a sorry state and whose forehead was bleeding from hitting his head, was actually Wang Fu, the Grand Eunuch of the Emperor's side.
He rushed over and helped the man up, all for the sake of a single pill. "Steward Wang, what happened to you? What happened?"
After their spiritual roots were discovered, His Majesty, along with Chief Steward Wang Fu and two guards, traveled a great distance to take them to the Xuan Yang Sect for testing.
Wang Fu looked at him, about to reach out and grab him to examine him, but upon seeing the sect's attire, he awkwardly withdrew his hand. "Little Mo... ah, no, I mean Immortal Master, greetings to the Immortal Master, thank you all for saving my life..."
After saying that, he was about to kneel down and kowtow again, but Heng Mola helped him up and stopped him. "Steward Wang, there's no need for such formalities. These are my senior brothers. They accepted the sect mission I issued and came back with me to see what's going on with the Xuan Yue Sect."
Heng Mo frowned as he looked at the two arrogant cultivators. "If I remember correctly, didn't His Majesty already offer tribute to the Xuan Yue Sect this year?"
Wang Fu explained in a low voice, "The offerings from the Xuan Yue Sect are used to arrange for the immortals to stay here. They also need to pay extra for exorcising demons. The payment was already sufficient according to their requirements, but the immortals feel that His Majesty did not personally come to invite them for these demon exorcisms..."
So he deliberately acted arrogantly, trying to get more benefits, but every low-grade spirit stone in Anguo was saved by His Majesty.
In the mortal realm, silver coins can be exchanged for spirit stones; the ratio is one thousand taels of silver for one low-grade spirit stone.
However, Anguo is just a small country with only seven cities, and its annual tax revenue is only a few hundred thousand, most of which is given to the Xuan Yue Sect and used to support the daily lives of the resident immortal masters.
The remaining small portion wasn't spent arbitrarily; it had to cover the maintenance of the entire country. Exorcising demons required money, and Hengzheng was unwilling to increase taxes on the people, so he tightened his belt himself.
He practically looted the entire palace, except for the dragon throne and the imperial seal, which were the only valuable items that remained unsold.
The chefs from the imperial kitchen were all assigned to cater banquets, the flowers in the imperial garden were sold off in sections, the gold and silver threads on the clothes were removed and exchanged for money, and even most of His Majesty's burial items were sold.
However, with demonic cultivators emerging one after another, this approach is merely a drop in the ocean.
Wang Fu held up several low-grade spirit stones and respectfully presented them to the two sword cultivator senior brothers who had just made their move, but they waved their hands and refused, saying that no one would accept two rewards for a single task.
Seeing that they wouldn't accept payment, Wang Fu was so anxious that he almost cried. He knelt down with a thud and pleaded, "Immortal Masters, there are still several places in Anguo where demonic cultivators are causing havoc on the people. Please, Immortal Masters, save my people!"
Two Xuan Yue Sect cultivators standing nearby couldn't help but sneer, "You think you can get a Foundation Establishment cultivator to help you with just a few low-grade spirit stones? What a pipe dream! We only accepted such a small amount because of the late Elder Heng. Do you think they'd help you? Dream on!"
Heng Mo clenched his fists in anger, and Lin You almost drew his sword, but then Senior Brother Qingmu suddenly spoke up:
"A country seeks tribute from a sect of cultivators, and the sect arranges for its disciples to be stationed there. I've never heard of any sect where the disciples stationed there need to receive extra benefits before they'll be willing to fight demons. You two probably added these rules yourselves."
His Golden Core stage aura instantly changed the expressions of the two cultivators, who retorted, "Senior, you are unaware of this; this has always been the rule."
However, what they didn't say was that in the past, after exorcising demons, the imperial court would send two or three low-grade spirit stones as a reward for their hard work. Now, they directly set a price and demanded more spirit stones, refusing to work if they weren't given them.
It's like in a restaurant, after a customer buys food, the waiter is supposed to serve it to them and only get a few coins as a tip if he serves them well. But now the waiter just intercepts the food and won't let you eat unless you pay more!
Originally, An Guo didn't know any other sect cultivators and had no connections, so he could only reluctantly accept the rules of the Xuan Yue Sect. But now, with the Xuan Yang Sect, he has a chance.
The two sword cultivator senior brothers exchanged a glance, both seeing an opportunity in each other's eyes. What are sword cultivators most famous for? They love to fight and are always short of money!
Such a good thing as being able to fight demonic cultivators and get spirit stones at the same time is not very common. The two reached out in tacit understanding, and one of them took a low-grade spirit stone from Wang Fu's hand.
"One low-grade spirit stone, and the demonic cultivator in the southeast corner is mine to deal with."
"One low-grade spirit stone. I'll take the one in the northwest!"
Before the Xuan Yue Sect members could react, the two of them had already flown away on their swords.
They weren't after a low-grade spirit stone, of course; they were just helping their junior brother, who had an excellent spiritual root, because they saw he cared.
Although I don't know why he, with such a fine top-grade ice spiritual root, didn't become a sword cultivator but instead took a pill cultivator as his master, the Seventh Elder is the wealthiest pill cultivator in the entire sect!
Although they hadn't spent much time together, it was clear that Heng Mo wasn't ignorant of the rules. This wealthy junior brother would definitely make up for any losses they suffered later.
Seeing that the matter was finished, Wang Fu finally breathed a sigh of relief. His legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground. After a while, he struggled to get up again: "Master Mo, hurry! His Majesty has been afflicted by demonic energy for half a month! There are too many demonic cultivators in the country. His Majesty has been saving up spirit stones to hire people to exorcise demons. He has not been willing to seek treatment from a celestial master himself."
Heng Mo's expression changed drastically upon hearing this, and he immediately pulled Wang Fu onto the flying boat, saying, "Senior Brother Qingmu, please hurry!"
Aoki drove the airship at almost its maximum speed, arriving at the An Kingdom's palace in a quarter of an hour. Wang Fu jumped off before the airship had even come to a complete stop, stumbling and running towards Hengzheng's palace.
Heng Mo hurriedly ran after him, but only managed to hear His Majesty's last words: "Keep the funeral simple, exorcise the demon, and save lives..."
"Your Majesty, you've waited so many times, why couldn't you wait a little longer..." Wang Fu rushed to the bedside, knelt on the ground, and cried uncontrollably, "Our little Mo is already an immortal, he's so amazing, please take another look!"
Heng Mo hurriedly poured out the life-saving pills given to him by his master, but no matter what he did, he couldn't get them to swallow.
He grasped his emperor's hand, tears finally streaming down his face: "Your Majesty, Xiao Mo is back! Father, open your eyes and look! Xiao Mo is a cultivator now! Father, Father..."
Heng Zheng had no children, but Heng Mo's address of "Father Emperor" meant that he was shouldering the responsibility for the entire An Kingdom. Senior Brother Qing Mu's mouth moved, but he didn't say anything in the end. Junior Brother Heng Mo wasn't cultivating the Path of Heartlessness, so it was enough for him to be happy in this regard.
He stepped forward and patted Heng Mo on the shoulder reassuringly:
"It's not your fault. His Majesty's demonic energy has been in his body for a long time and has already permeated his internal organs. Even if you had come back a day or two earlier, it wouldn't have mattered. This kind of thing is something that even ordinary cultivators, let alone mortals, cannot withstand."
Heng Mo was still filled with self-reproach. If he had held back and given his father more spirit stones, his father wouldn't have hesitated to find someone to remove the demonic energy.
If I had posted the demon-slaying quest in the quest hall beforehand, perhaps Anguo wouldn't have faced such difficulties.
If I hadn't been so hesitant and had asked my master for help earlier, perhaps Anguo wouldn't have suffered so many calamities.
if,………
But there are no "what ifs" in this world!
Heng Mo burst into tears. Seeing him like this, Senior Brother Qingmu didn't want to disturb him, so he went to help clear out the other demonic cultivators in Anguo.
Seeing that Heng Mo was still like this, Lin You was afraid it would affect his temperament, so she hurriedly transmitted her voice: "Don't worry, there is still a way."
Heng Mo, who had been immersed in grief, suddenly raised his head. "You said I would do anything to save him!"
"Heng Mo! Calm down. His physical body has been completely corroded by demonic energy and he is definitely dead, but I have a way to send his soul to another world so that he can live a good life."
Lin You once saw an interesting item in the system shop called the Time Travel Wishing Star. It could be used within one hour after a person's death to allow their soul to travel through time and to wish for the identity they would be given and some minor cheats.
Heng Mo could also see the system page, and he could also see the product introduction that Lin You opened. It was indeed as she said. Heng Mo held His Majesty's body and confirmed again that he was indeed dead and had no chance of survival. Only then did he nod with red eyes and agree to Lin You's suggestion.
At least, his emperor can live a good life in another world without having to worry about anything anymore.
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Author's note: This world was conceived together with another fanfiction. His Majesty the Emperor didn't die; he's traveled to the Lotus Tower!
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