Chapter 263 The Real Root of Evil
On the northwest side of the Dongping Mountains, in a flat valley near a wild lake.
Because the mountains and forests were humid, the burning branches kept making crackling sounds and sparks flying everywhere.
The two heads of Tianshu Academy, Qin Rong and Ji Jingyao, as well as Elder Fang and Elder Ge from the Elders' Pavilion, were standing on a low cliff, looking at the practitioners who were resting at the bottom of the valley.
To the east were the disciples of their Tianshu Academy, while to the west and south were the disciples of the Wendao Sect and the Shanhai Pavilion. In addition, there were also some scattered disciples from other sects who came here to recover their breath, their faces flickering in the constantly jumping flames.
It took a month to track down Dou Yuankong, and another month and a half from the time we entered the mountain to now.
From discovering the existence of the Bu family to realizing that they had underestimated their power and sending more disciples to help them, they have been struggling for a long time in the past half month but have not gained anything.
But whether it was the Tianshu Academy or the people from other immortal sects, none of them looked tired. Instead, they seemed vaguely excited.
Because anyone who has seen the Bu family transformed into evil corpses knows that this will be something that can subvert the world.
"There are more than 20 people from the Bu family who fled into the mountains. The most important core figures have never shown up. It seems that they are hiding now."
"More than half of them were sent out to disrupt our vision and lead us around the mountains by the nose."
"The fighting power of these disciples is only slightly higher than that of Rong Dao, but we can't even find or capture them."
Elder Fang stood with his hands behind his back, his gloomy voice dissipating into the wind.
He is a powerful being with boundless power, and his spiritual power is stronger than others, but he is still powerless in the face of the vast Dongping Mountains.
So they sent their disciples out to search everywhere, but there has been no results in so many days, and there was a hint of blame in their tone.
Ji Jingyao and Qin Rong looked at him and said, "Six of the disciples sent to search Beishan died and eight were injured. This was all to capture them alive. If our goal was to kill them, we would not be so passive."
Elder Fang looked at them and said, "What can we get out of them if we kill them? We must know how they became evil species so that we can be prepared."
Hearing this, the two couldn't help but look at each other.
They all knew that being on guard was just Elder Fang's polite remark.
In fact, almost everyone in the valley is like this. They don’t think that it is a disaster that humans can transform into evil species, but rather think that it is an opportunity.
Especially those old monsters in the Elders’ Pavilion who have not much time left.
They have been stuck in a bottleneck for many years and are on the verge of running out of energy. How can they sit still after hearing such news?
Elder Fang looked at their expressions, and a hint of coldness flashed across his deep-set eyes: "Things in Qingyun World are not always black and white. Some things can be done without, but they cannot be absent."
After hearing this, Elder Ge immediately responded, "What Elder Fang said is right. Nothing is the root of the trouble. You two are both family heads in your respective families. Have you ever thought that one day there will be a conflict with you and there will be many Rong Dao in your family, and Ying Tian will be everywhere. How will you deal with it then?"
Ji Jingyao was silent for a while after hearing this, then nodded gently: "What the two elders said is very true. In the Qingyun world, if others have what you don't, this is the real source of trouble."
Elder Fang lowered his eyes and looked around the valley. "The other immortal sects have sent more disciples than us, and their realms are higher than ours. We should send more disciples with higher realms."
Qin Rong looked up when he heard the voice: "For this kind of thing, the fewer people who know about it, the better. If everyone has some opportunities, then it won't be very meaningful."
"That's something you should think about after you get the opportunity."
"What does Elder Fang mean...?"
"There are many disciples in the inner courtyard, sitting on the mountain all day long to meditate on the truth. They should make some contributions to the sect."
Elder Fang's idea of sending more disciples was accurately conveyed to Qin Rong and Ji Jingyao's minds, but the problem was that this was not easy to do.
Because the more people there are, the higher the risk of news leaking.
Moreover, this is not a tour, but an arrest. There will be casualties, and the selection of people requires extreme caution.
At this moment, Ji Jingyao was slightly stunned and couldn't help but look at Qin Rong.
Qin Rong looked at him, and a name that was the same as his appeared in his mind - Ji You.
In the eyes of everyone in the Director's Office, Ji You is the most useful disciple of the Heavenly Academy. He slashed through the forest of swords, crossed the snowy region, and won the Tiandao Association championship.
It’s a pity that he failed to break through after coming out of the Holy Land of Sages, otherwise, even entering the Dao of Melting would be of great use.
Qin Rong sighed slightly, and suddenly heard Elder Ge's voice ringing in his ears.
"Why is there some commotion?"
"?"
The four of them looked up at the same time and found that a group of disciples from the Wendao Sect had returned, and seemed to be carrying something.
Before they could observe clearly, a group of disciples from Tianshu Academy also arrived in the valley, which immediately caused discussion.
When Elder Fang saw this scene, he instantly fell from the cliff, and Elder Ge, Qin Rong and Ji Jingyao followed.
Then they saw a head with closed eyes and pale skin with a gloomy black color.
Elder Fang looked at the head in front of him angrily: "Why did you kill it?!"
The disciple who brought the corpse back raised his head when he heard the voice and said timidly: "Although it is not alive, it is still a member of the Bu family. Can... can we exchange it for some elixirs?"
"What's the point of death? Didn't I give the order to leave some alive?"
“This, this…”
Elder Fang looked at them grimly: "How dare you disobey the imperial order?"
The disciples who returned raised their heads, hesitated for a while and couldn't help but speak: "Reporting to the elder, in fact, we didn't kill him."
Qin Rong and Ji Jingyao looked at each other and asked, "Didn't you kill him?"
"We just found their bodies while searching."
"?"
Elder Fang frowned instantly: "Where did you see it?"
The disciple who answered immediately leaned forward and said, "In a valley in the east, there are three bodies..."
"Who did it?"
"When we arrived, there were only corpses left in the valley, and we don't know who did it."
Hearing this, Elder Fang's eyes instantly turned cold: "This is simply a waste of natural resources!"
His life span was running out. For the past few decades, he had been placing his hopes on breaking through the realm but had achieved nothing. He was already in a gloomy mood, and now that he had finally seen some hope, it was ruined in the hands of others. He could not calm down at all.
Seeing that Elder Fang was furious, the two leaders couldn't help but look at each other, with a hint of confusion in their eyes.
Because they had just checked the cut on the neck and found that the wound was clean and neat, obviously it was done with ease.
But they didn't understand why the attacker didn't just capture him alive to exchange for elixirs, spirit stones and spells, but had to behead him with a single sword.
Qin Rong and Ji Jingyao couldn't help but come back to their senses and looked in the direction of the Wendao Sect.
If what I just saw was correct, the bodies they brought back should also be those of the Bu family.
In fact, their guess was correct. Except for the Dan Sect, disciples from almost all the other immortal sects that came here had discovered corpses scattered in the mountains and forests.
The Dao Sect, the Chen Clan, the Shanhai Pavilion... everyone was talking about it.
"Did someone really kill the Bu family and abandon their bodies in the wilderness?"
"Yes, we have found five bodies. All of them had their necks cut off by a single sword strike. They didn't stop at all to leave any survivors."
"The lowest realm among the Bu family members who escaped into the mountains is the Rong Dao realm. In addition, they can transform into evil species, which is even more terrifying. Who has such a strong fighting power?"
"Could it be an elder from a certain sect?"
"Impossible. All the major immortal sects have issued orders to keep the Bu family alive."
“Not entirely.”
"?"
"It is said that the young master of Lingjian Mountain has issued a killing order."
"Impossible. We met some disciples from Lingjian Mountain some time ago, and they said that they were also asked to leave some people alive."
"That's a disciple from Tianjian Peak. Lingjian Mountain is different from other immortal sects. It is the only immortal sect with two leaders. Tianjian Peak obeys the orders of the headmaster Yan Zhong, while Xuanjian Peak obeys the orders of the master Jian..."
"Could it be that the one who killed the Bu family's children was the elder of Xuanjian Peak?"
The young master of Lingjian Mountain did issue the kill order, and other immortal sects also knew this.
So when the bodies of the Bu family members were discovered one after another, the first thing everyone thought of was Xuanjian Peak.
The most important thing is that those evil species were indeed killed by a sharp sword, which is extremely consistent.
In the thick night of the forest, a mighty man from the Immortal Sect stood among the mountains with his hands behind his back, his eyes slightly cold.
In their view, the young master of Lingjian Mountain already possessed a sacred weapon at such a young age, was extremely talented, and had no strong desire to seek outside help, so it was not surprising that he would issue such an imperial order.
But in the eyes of these powerful people, she was still considered a little too arrogant.
The opportunities that the Bu family has are not only related to a certain person's realm, it will even affect the level division of the Qingyun world, the survival of the family, and the entire Jiuzhou.
Rustle, rustle——
Under the gloomy sky, the sky over the Dongping Mountains did not become much brighter with the coming of dawn.
Ji You stood among the thousand-year-old trees with intertwined roots and gently bent his waist.
There was no good accommodation in the forest, so he did not fall asleep last night. Instead, he was meditating. After waking up, he missed his bed in Tianshuyuan or Jizhai. Of course, Tsundere's Phoenix Couch was not bad either...
At this time, he jumped into the air and landed on a towering bluestone, using the rare daylight to determine the route.
The terrain of the Dongping Mountains is straight upward, with peaks crisscrossing and no clouds visible, so the deeper you go, the lower the temperature becomes.
The hillside ahead was now covered with snow, and even the chirping of insects had become less frequent.
“This environment is a bit like where I come from.”
Zhuo Wanqiu was standing guard nearby, holding a delicate sword in her hand. She couldn't help but look up when she heard the voice: "Are you talking about Yuyang County, Master?"
Ji You shook his head: "Somewhere else."
Zhuo Wanqiu was stunned for a moment, her eyes a little confused.
Seeing this, Ji You spoke up: "The people from the Bu family who were used to disrupt the line of sight are scattered. Compared with the seven major immortal sects, my advantage is that I can vaguely sense their location, but my disadvantage is that I am only one person. If I want to kill the Bu family members before everyone else, I have to speed up. If you are tired, tell me."
Zhuo Wanqiu shook her head after hearing this: "My son-in-law's business is more important, we can keep up."
Just as he finished speaking, footsteps were heard in the distance.
Ding Yao came out of a cave in the distance, and she had changed her clothes: "Master, I'm fine."
Ji You looked at her with a strange expression, then coughed twice: "Then let's go."
"yes."
Ding Yao felt that her son-in-law was a little aloof today, but she didn't think much about it and just followed him.
Ji You's speed was extremely fast, and he flew low over the ground with his spiritual energy whistling. Fortunately, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu were not delicate young ladies, and they did not complain at all despite such a high-intensity pursuit.
Even if his spiritual energy was exhausted, he would silently take out spirit stones to replenish it.
After a long time, Ji You drew out his sword on a low peak, his blood surging, and jumped down.
Then, the sword began to hum.
Although they had seen it many times, the two girls were still shocked by every move of their brother-in-law, and they looked down intently.
Amid the wild sword chanting, facing the sudden surge of murderous aura, the figure in white slashed down with the sword, with overwhelming momentum, and with a buzzing sound, he fiercely chopped down one of the figures at the bottom of the valley.
As his sword fell, a sharp claw appeared in the air wave, whistling towards him with a cutting sound.
Just as the sharp claw was about to seal his throat, the next moment it was clamped tightly by an arm in mid-air, and a sound of bones cracking suddenly rang out.
Ding Yao was watching intently when she suddenly heard Zhuo Wanqiu yawn. She couldn't help but turn her head to look at her: "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Zhuo Wanqiu's eyes suddenly became strange: "Did Senior Sister Ding sleep well last night?"
"Actually...I slept pretty well."
"Did you sleep well, or did you have a good dream?"
"?"
Zhuo Wanqiu couldn't help but glance at Ji You in the valley: "Senior Sister Ding started calling me Master after she went to bed yesterday..."
Hearing this, Ding Yao's eyes widened.
She was the kind of person who had a very light sleep when she left her bed, especially since the environment in the mountains was not suitable for resting, so she would have many dreams.
Last night's dream was so presumptuous that she got up in the morning and hurriedly found a cave to change her clothes and dress.
But the good thing was that no one knew about her dream, so she was not too panicked.
But she really didn't want to be beaten, she talked in her sleep last night...
At this moment, Ding Yao suddenly remembered the strange look Ji You gave her, and immediately said, "Maybe I got used to calling you Master these days, and I couldn't help but mutter to you a few times in my sleep."
Zhuo Wanqiu glanced at her and said, "But you started calling me brother..."
"?"
"Master Jian hasn't called me brother yet, but Senior Sister Ding called me brother first."
The scene of last night instantly appeared in Zhuo Wanqiu's mind.
At that time, she found that Senior Sister Ding, who usually looked cold and arrogant, kept calling her brother. She was afraid to sleep instantly, fearing that she would also call him even when she fell asleep. As a result, she stayed up all night.
Ding Yao naturally refused to admit it and told Zhuo Wanqiu seriously that she was calling someone else.
Zhuo Wanqiu didn't believe it at all. She just thought that if Master Jian couldn't hold on, Senior Sister Ding might be able to share the firepower.
At this moment, the sounds of fighting in the valley gradually subsided.
Ji You killed two more members of the Bu family and jumped onto the cliff.
Those he had killed before in the outskirts of Dongping Mountain were basically those who were only at the Rong Dao Realm. Even though their bodies were extremely strong, it was not difficult for him to deal with them.
But the ones we met today are obviously stronger than before.
He put away the long sword in his hand, and his surging divine thoughts surged towards the distance. He couldn't help but look at the two women: "The people from the seven major immortal sects are coming, let's go first."
Zhuo Wanqiu and Ding Yao immediately bowed: "Yes."
The two girls followed him and kept moving through the mountains and forests.
During this time, Ji You drew his sword again and killed two members of the Bu family. He did not stop until late at night before he stopped on a cliff.
There were not many correct characters left that had been written on the paper, which made Ji You feel a little relieved.
At the same time, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu had already cleared the snow on the cliff and then lit a bonfire.
However, until late at night after dinner, neither Ding Yao nor Zhuo Wanqiu showed any intention of going to sleep.
"Junior Sister Zhuo has been up for two days, go to sleep first."
"Let Senior Sister Ding go..."
"I...I meditate."
Zhuo Wanqiu turned around and glanced at Ji You: "Isn't your husband asleep yet?"
Ji You glanced at her and said, "No need to sleep anymore. Boys still have to protect themselves when they are outside."
"?"
The sun rises and sets, and the stars and the moon rotate.
A cloud of mountain fog floated in the dense forest, and within the fog, countless figures full of spiritual energy kept flying past.
At the same time, countless elders with names and surnames floated in the air, their sharp eyes constantly sweeping through the depths of the mountains, and then they tapped their toes and glided away between the dark ridges.
The number of immortal cultivators in the mountains and forests is increasing.
This was not because new people had arrived, but because the cultivators from different immortal sects, although each of them was operating independently, were actually working in tacit coordination to reduce the area of encirclement.
In their opinion, as long as they were surrounded in the middle, even if they were a little slower, these rats hiding in the mountains would definitely be caught.
In fact, this is also the reason why Ji You wants to speed up.
Because as the encirclement becomes smaller and smaller, the spiritual thoughts of those immortal cultivators will become more and more useful.
In fact, ever since he entered the heart of the mountains, he was almost captured by other people's divine thoughts several times.
Another time, someone apparently sensed the aftermath of the battle with divine sense and chased after them.
If it weren't for his amazing strength, he might have been surrounded by those immortal cultivators before he could kill the Bu family members.
He was not afraid of meeting others, but if he really met them, he would definitely be disturbed and obstructed when killing people.
Ji You began to vaguely feel that the next time he made a move, he might be snatching someone from someone else.
The most important thing is that the Bu family is not dead.
Although they can transform into evil species, they are not truly evil species that are not afraid of death.
In his opinion, as the Immortal Sect was getting closer with their mountain-circling search, the Bu family would not sit idly by and wait for death, and would most likely take action first.
In other words, the further he goes, the more difficult it will be for him to attack.
He was not the only one who felt worried, but also those powerful people from the Immortal Sect.
Because there were several times when they had locked onto the Bu family, but when they rushed over they found only corpses.
One, two, three...
The faces of the elders from the major immortal sects gradually changed, and they thought that something was wrong.
They didn't know how the beheader found these Bu family members, but they found that the Bu family who had fled into the mountains were almost all together! "How strange."
"What's strange about that?"
"There was no purse, but the strings to tie the purses were all there, and that was true for every one of them."
"?"
Some people encountered corpses, while others encountered acquaintances.
As the search area narrowed, many old acquaintances met by coincidence.
Just like in a southern valley called Fallen Eagle Gorge, people who met by chance found that they knew each other.
Such as Jiang Chenfeng, Jiang Yan, Tu Ri from Daodao Sect, the illegitimate son of Shanhai Pavilion, Huo Hong, his junior brother Lu Dacheng, his junior sister Jiang Yuerou, Yan Qiubai and Xie Chenyu from Lingjian Mountain, and Chu Butian from Xuanyuan Immortal Mansion.
They had been on a diplomatic mission together to the Snow Region Demon Tribe. Although they each had their own purposes, they were in a relationship of life and death, after all, especially after the demon tribe's night attack, they had a friendship with each other.
So naturally, this coincidental meeting was accompanied by some pleasantries.
"Brother Jiang hasn't broken through yet?"
"I gained a lot in the Holy Land of the Sages. If it weren't for the evil seed incident, I might have already broken through the threshold of Yingtian Realm through seclusion. But it's good this way. I can go into seclusion after getting the elixir from Danzong, and maybe it will be smoother."
"The holy land of the ancient sages is really mysterious, but I heard that Ji You has not yet broken through. Is this true?"
"If you see it with your own eyes, it must be true."
"I didn't expect it to be like this. Back in the Snow Region, in the Heavenly Dao Association, I thought he could be on the same level as us. I didn't expect it to be so sad."
At that time, the Chen family's immortal clan suffered a severe blow and for some reason did not send anyone to the Snow Region, so only a few people from the Heavenly Academy were missing here.
There is a basic principle in getting together, that is, you can talk about whoever is not there, and Ji You is of course the best topic of conversation.
Because he failed to break through, it is indeed sad, but also makes people feel comfortable.
While chatting and laughing, Jiang Chenfeng kept paying attention to Huo Hong who was just standing there without saying a word.
This was the second time he had seen Huo Hong since he entered Dongping Mountain, but he felt that Huo Hong's behavior was very strange. He was a talkative person, but he had been silent during these two times.
It's not that he doesn't like to talk, but it seems like he is always thinking about something.
Jiang Chenfeng noticed for a long time and found that people often came to look for him and whispered in his ears, as if there was some news being passed on...
(End of this chapter)
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