Night raid
Moonlight streamed across the jade table, where Mingqi and Yongyun each held a vermilion brush, engrossed in processing case files.
With the Immortal Sect Grand Competition approaching, there are many more affairs to attend to within the sect.
They have been sitting since dawn. Although cultivators are physically stronger than ordinary people, sitting for a long time will still make them feel tired.
The incense ash in the burner had long since cooled, and Venerable Yongyun rubbed his stiff neck as he got up to add more incense.
"I never want to have anything to do with that distinguished guest again in my life." Yongyun placed newly lit agarwood incense into the incense burner, the smoke swirling between his tightly furrowed brows. "Why was I arranged to accompany him?"
He thought to himself: Why is that prince seeking cooperation with Immortal Venerable Qiming coming to the Jingyin Sect? It's close to the opening of the sect's spiritual veins, and various forces are secretly making moves…
The folding fan in Venerable Mingqi's hand unfurled with a "whoosh," revealing half of a bamboo painting. The crimson hue at the corners of his eyes shone alluringly in the moonlight, exuding a captivating charm.
“After all, the guest’s status is special. Since the sect leader is not here, the elders will naturally accompany him. I am like him and we are incompatible, but Yichen…” He often quarreled with Yichen, and Mingqi couldn’t help but chuckle, “He is different from me and we are incompatible. After thinking it over, you are the most suitable.”
Mingqi gently waved his folding fan, then suddenly closed it. "You've been accompanying me these past few days, and Yichen has been handling all your official duties. You have nothing to complain about, right? By the way, where is he?"
He said he was going to visit an old friend.
"Oh, I think he's gone to find some peace and quiet."
Mingqi cursed inwardly: This man first accused me of being overly self-serving, then sent Hengyan to investigate secretly. While others have waded into this mess, he's acting like he's uninvolved—it's utterly unreasonable!
However, his attention was quickly diverted.
Seeing Yongyun return to her desk, he couldn't help but feel a little teasing. "The sect leader sent word yesterday that her reporting for duty is nearing its end and she will return in two days."
"Alright, alright, let's talk about Sang Zhao's letter first." Yongyun changed the subject.
Yongyun had always had complicated feelings towards the new sect leader. Despite working together for a long time, he still couldn't let go of his resentment. He tried to avoid being around him in the sect as much as possible. He knew that the matter had nothing to do with the sect leader, but the more he understood, the more ashamed and resentful he felt about the subtle grievance in his heart.
With a wave of his hand, Mingqi saw the message from Sang Zhao appear before his eyes.
"I've been in Shixi Village for over two days. Although I've spent most of my time with Miss Lin, I can still sense the simple and honest nature of the people here. I suspect she was innocently dragged into this mess. The only suspicious person right now is the doctor from that incident, but we haven't found him yet. We have a lead today and plan to investigate tonight. If there's any news... That's it? Has something gone wrong?"
"Perhaps it's just something important. You don't need to worry about his abilities." Mingqi lightly tapped the air with his fingertips, and the image of the Soul Breath Tower was reflected in the sky.
Even if Sang Zhao is only at the bottom among the direct disciples of the Jingyin Sect, he is still considered top-tier within the Jingyin Sect and in the cultivation world.
The jade lamp belonging to Sang Zhao floated in the center of the layers of barriers, its flame flickering with strange colors, unlike any other lamps nearby.
"The soul lamp is still burning; there is no need to worry."
The energy contained in each person's spiritual power is unique. Even siblings born of the same mother have subtle differences. The Soul Lamp is an object born from this characteristic, which can indicate the life or death of the owner of the spiritual power it contains.
The soul lamps of all disciples of the Jingyin Sect are enshrined in the Soul Breath Pavilion in order to pray for the safety of every member of the sect.
Since Sang Zhao reported that the Rejuvenation Pill was indeed effective, Ming Qi was put in charge of the matter. Yi Chen no longer inquired about the matter, simply informing Sang Zhao to pass on all the information he had gathered to Ming Qi, and then went off to travel again.
Indeed, Venerable Mingqi handled this matter very well.
Upon receiving the message, he contacted Tokichimon. After checking the barrier with them and confirming that there were no signs of it loosening, Naruki felt somewhat relieved.
That great battle is not far away; it still haunts those who experienced it to this day.
There can be absolutely no mistakes.
After the two of them finished their business, a second message arrived, carrying the chill of the night. Mingqi blocked the ray of light with his fingers, and the new message slowly unfolded on the table.
"Miss Lin just visited, so I had to hastily stop sending messages and have now gone to the post station to search for clues. Please check the handwriting and the style of the navigation artifact left behind."
Yongyun traced the runes with his fingertips, the threads reflecting a cold light in his pupils. He said, "The handwriting... seems unfamiliar. The appearance of this magical artifact resembles Qiling City."
Qiling City is the only place in the world where spiritual artifacts originate.
Qiling City is the residence of the Immortal Venerable Qiming and is not open to anyone. It is only open to the public when the three sects and one clan, as well as the major immortal cultivator clans, report on their duties each year, and on the day the spiritual veins of Qiling City are opened.
The distinguished guest came to Jingyin Sect to discuss matters with Immortal Venerable Qiming. Everyone was puzzled, because Qiling City had recently opened, yet he insisted on taking a long detour to Jingyin Sect.
It's almost as if they're deliberately dragging the Jingyin Sect into this mess.
The powerful immortal cultivation clans were already furious that the Jingyin Sect didn't take sides, and they were trying to seize on their mistake and take a hard bite out of them.
If asked which of the three sects and one school is closest to Immortal Venerable Qiming, it would undoubtedly be the Tanwei Sect, which is still directly under Qiming's jurisdiction. However, the problem is that those mad dogs, intimidated by the Immortal Venerable's tyranny, dare not attack the Tanwei Sect. Instead, they constantly make things difficult for the Jingyin Sect, which has long been indifferent to worldly affairs.
"It's not certain yet, so keep your guesses to yourself for now," Mingqi reminded him.
Although he had no intention of getting involved in the collusion between the immortal cultivation clans and the aristocratic families, it was time to change the passive situation of always being cautious in his words and deeds to avoid being caught doing something wrong.
These days of constantly being on guard against being bitten by a vicious dog lurking in the shadows are truly frustrating.
Since being placed under the jurisdiction of Immortal Venerable Qiming, the Jingyin Sect has been given a separate stance and no longer participates in matters concerning the Immortal Realm and the Human Realm. However, the mistakes made in the past remain, and to outsiders, it does not appear that the Jingyin Sect is biased towards Qiming.
However, everything eventually got back on track, and the Jingyin Sect became more than just a sword, but the one who wielded that sword was always just one person.
None of those fools in the great cultivation clans saw this. Mingqi felt disgusted just thinking about them. The great cultivation clans of today were no longer what they used to be. He had brought Zhou Hengyan to the Jingyin Sect precisely because he was afraid that Zhou Hengyan would be influenced by those people, but he never expected that after just a few years of exposure...
In the end, there was only a sigh.
Shuofeng City, post station.
The young monk was leaping from the carved window on the fourth floor, his black robes billowing in the night wind.
It's late at night.
Yes, it was late at night, and the sky looked like it had been splashed with ink, so thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
Lin Yun looked up at the chaotic night sky, where the flowing clouds surged like ink stains in an inkstone, even swallowing up the last rays of the moon. She pulled her cloak tighter, unaware that Sang Zhao was currently skimming over the eaves, the tips of his boots lightly touching the green tiles like falling snowflakes.
The hundred carved windows of the inn glowed with a dim yellow light in the night. Sang Zhao lay in the shadow of the roof ridge, holding his breath. The crisp sound of armor clashing came from under the eaves, and two guards carrying lanterns turned around the veranda.
With so many rooms, checking them all would take a considerable amount of time. Just as he was carefully observing which room was the most heavily guarded, a man came out of the room and instructed the guards who were changing shifts, saying, "Now that His Highness has moved in, the patrols must be more thorough than usual, otherwise neither of us can bear the responsibility if something happens."
The voice sounded very familiar; it was the man in black from that day.
Sang Zhao gripped the gap between the tiles with his knuckles, and spiritual energy flowed from between his fingers like threads. The entire inn was as silent as an ancient well, and he did not sense that there was a cultivator presiding over it.
This conclusion reassured Sang Zhao somewhat. However, all human towns had formations that suppressed cultivators, so he couldn't be careless. He had already tested it during the day; offensive spells were weakened by more than half, and defensive spells were also weakened by half.
While cultivators possess superior senses and perception compared to ordinary people, they lack the ability to see a thousand miles or hear the wind. Sang Zhao, positioned on the roof, couldn't observe the number of people in each room, and therefore couldn't determine which room held the higher-ranking individuals. If the rooms were filled with cultivators, determining their numbers would be a simple matter.
As the patrol team reached the main building, the leader craned his neck four times unnaturally, his gaze fixed on the west-facing window frame on the fourth floor.
As soon as the gong signaling the change of guard sounded, Sang Zhao had already spun around and flipped into the target room.
A sudden, clattering sound of machinery erupted in the darkness. Before Sang Zhao's toes even touched the ground, the whooshing sound was already close to his face. Three arrowheads gleamed with a cold, eerie blue light. He reflexively used defensive spells, but they were ineffective. Caught off guard, the arrows pierced his body, instantly blooming into flowers of blood.
He could only draw his dagger to defend against the arrows fired by the mechanism.
"Snap!"
The crisp sound of a short sword cleaving through a hail of arrows mingled with the cracking of wooden planks, and the floor tiles beneath his feet crumbled like quicksand. He bent over in mid-air and kicked a beam for leverage, but a second volley of crossbow bolts burst forth from the cracks in the walls on all four sides, raining down arrows—there was no escape.
Warm liquid gushed from the newly opened wound on his waist and abdomen, and he finally broke through the carved window frame.
He was prepared to be met with the glint of blades outside, but there was nothing there; the silence was unnatural.
He leaped onto the roof, looking down over the entire inn from above. The chill of the night wind seeping into his wounds brought him back to his senses. The inn's courtyard was completely deserted; the guards who had been patrolling earlier had all vanished. Most strangely, even the spiritual energy that had been suppressed since he entered the room was gradually returning to normal.
There's no time to lose, let's leave as soon as possible.
He had a bad feeling. After checking and finding nothing he shouldn't have brought, he hurried back to Shixi Village.
With a light touch of his toes, he swiftly flew over the rooftop. The moment his spiritual energy completely filled his meridians, a faint cracking sound came from the roof ridge.
"Oh no—"
The blue tiles shattered into dust beneath his feet, raining down like a storm. He landed on his back, the shock so intense it felt like his internal organs were shifting, and he couldn't help but groan. He finally saw clearly the familiar pattern reflected in the window frame—a spirit-sealing spell unique to the cultivation world.
He endured the pain: If he could make it back alive this time, he would definitely practice his martial arts skills properly.
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