Chapter 26: “You

“Seeing so many Foundation Establishment elders, how do you feel?”

Wang Xianmao walked ahead with his hands behind his back, asking the youths behind him.

“The spirit goose was delicious, the spirit tea was genuine eighth-rank spirit tea—I’ve never drunk it before, and it truly lives up to its reputation.”

Yulou’s summary left Yuan confused.

Brother, have you been infected by me?

Sorry, I didn’t mean to—I really didn’t intend it.

“Hahaha, good! Not a waste bringing you here!”

What surprised Yuan even more was that Yulou’s nonsense answer had pleased the clan chief.

Yuan was certain that if the question had been asked by Wang Rongyuan, and he’d answered he’d just been eating, Rongyuan would’ve given him another ten rounds of loving punishment.

As they passed the temporary stall area added to Qingxi Fang, Gao Jian’s shouting rang out.

“It’s you we’re after! Let me tell you, I’ve been watching you for a long time.”

You walk from stall to stall holding something, pretending to buy, but actually selling.

You dare sneak-sell without paying the stall fee?

Who gave you the nerve?

What do you think our Qingxi Fang Peacekeeping Team is?

Do you think we can’t tell?

Gao Jian and his few subordinates all wore the standard robes of Red Lantern Sect’s outer disciples, beating a wandering cultivator whose cultivation base hovered around Qi Refining mid-stage.

The bastard raised his hand to snatch the bag from the wandering cultivator’s arms, but the cultivator rolled on the ground, clutching the bag tightly.

“I didn’t! You’re framing me!”

Seeing the man refused to pay to make it go away, Gao Jian cursed.

“Get out of my way!”

At this, his subordinates quickly released their grip on the wandering cultivator.

They were afraid—Gao Jian didn’t care who he beat up.

The disciple transformed from Jiang Bao drew his Spirit-Binding Rope and lashed it violently across the cultivator’s body.

“You’re thieves!”

The wandering cultivator activated his Stone Armor Talisman and shouted loudly.

He hoped some being, somewhere, would know his suffering and rescue him from this ordeal.

Called a thief, Gao Jian wasn’t fazed—he sneered and barked.

“Fine! You dare slander the Qingxi Fang Peacekeeping Team of the Red Lantern Sect? You’re clearly a bandit cultivator with evil intentions!”

“Bandit cultivator” was a catch-all label—anything could be shoved into it. Gao Jian understood how to maintain order.

Catching more “bandit cultivators” meant both profit and improved performance metrics.

The wandering cultivators around the stalls watched the brutal conflict in frozen silence, teeth gritted in rage, yet dared not utter a word or take a single step.

Gao Jian’s cultivation was nothing special, but behind him stood Jiang Bao, the Red Lantern Sect!

Wang Xianmao paused upon noticing the conflict; Yulou saw the clan chief gaze toward the distant crowd.

Following the clan chief’s gaze, he spotted the group of Immortal Alliance envoys dressed in white robes, black rhino-horn belts at their waists.

They were the Immortal Alliance envoys who had come with True Person Danri; their duty was to govern all cultivators under heaven.

Even the Purple Mansion and Golden Core ancestors of the Red Lantern Sect had to, in some dimension, obey the Immortal Alliance’s order.

“Watch closely—you’ll soon learn what the Immortal Alliance is.”

Using magic power, Wang Xianmao drew the two youths to his side and whispered to them.

Yuan watched expectantly as the Immortal Alliance cultivators approached the scene of the dispute—he still didn’t understand the clan chief’s meaning.

But Yulou understood.

He looked at the wandering cultivator, who was screaming in agony, his gaze complex.

From this wandering cultivator, Yulou saw the Wang Clan under the oppression of the Red Lantern Sect.

Gao Jian exploited and crushed wandering cultivators to the bone.

The Red Lantern Sect exploited and squeezed its vassal forces to the bone.

The difference was merely one was direct and obvious, the other more subtle, more respectable.

In essence, they were identical.

The Immortal Alliance envoys gradually neared the scene of the dispute; the crowd naturally parted to form a path.

Now that the Immortal Alliance had arrived, was justice restored?

Seeing the Immortal Alliance envoys approach, the wandering cultivator seized him like a lifeline, crawling toward them.

“Immortal Alliance elders, save me! Immortal Alliance elders, save me! He’s framing me! He’s framing me!”

Gao Jian retracted his Spirit-Binding Rope and feigned a respectful bow to explain to the Immortal Alliance envoys.

“Fellow cultivators, this is a bandit cultivator with ill intent. Our Qingxi Fang Peacekeeping Team discovered his crimes and are apprehending him!”

The wandering cultivator immediately panicked—he crawled to the feet of the Immortal Alliance cultivators and grabbed the hem of a female cultivator’s robe, begging for help.

But the high-level Qi Refining female Immortal Alliance cultivator merely backhanded and hurled a seal-shaped magic treasure at his head.

“How dare you soil my robe?”

Seeing the Immortal Alliance envoys refused to defend a wandering cultivator, Gao Jian’s panic vanished completely.

“Fellow cultivators, I’ll handle this myself—I’ll handle this myself.”

He channeled spiritual energy and lashed the whip squarely across the cultivator’s spine.

One strike, and the cultivator collapsed to the ground.

The cultivator lay on the ground, spitting out thick clots of blood, pupils vacant, his life hanging by a thread.

“All of you… all of you… you’re all…”

He muttered, trying to say something, but Gao Jian swung another whip at his skull, silencing his fury and despair.

“Crack!”

Blood and brain matter splattered—the wandering cultivator could no longer utter any defiant words.

The female cultivator whose robe had been grabbed now had blood spatters on it; she glared at Gao Jian and spat.

“Blind fool!”

Saying this, she raised the seal-shaped magic treasure to strike Gao Jian.

Seeing the flying magic seal, Gao Jian suddenly felt as if he and the wandering cultivator had swapped places.

Shit—I’m going to be bullied too!

He’d always known Immortal Alliance cultivators were arrogant, but he’d never imagined they could be this arrogant.

Even though Jiang Bao was his master, Gao Jian dared not truly clash with Immortal Alliance cultivators.

Facing the furious woman, he could only channel spiritual energy to sidestep, trying to buy time.

At that moment, Wang Xianmao finally acted.

But Yulou never expected that Wang Xianmao would side with Gao Jian!

Azure spiritual energy, like silk veils, instantly flew over dozens of meters and intercepted the magic seal.

The faint aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator made every nearby Qi Refining cultivator instantly notice Wang Xianmao.

This was a Foundation Establishment cultivator—usually unseen, a phantom. Many of the Qi Refining cultivators present had never seen one in person before.

The clan chief stepped forward and chided Gao Jian with mild reproach.

“Enough. Stop now, Xiao Gao. I just had dinner with your master—he’s looking for you. Go see him.”

Yulou understood: this was meant for the Immortal Alliance envoys.

I’m Foundation Establishment. The man you’re beating has a master who’s also Foundation Establishment.

Most Foundation Establishment cultivators in Wunan belong to the Immortal Alliance system—we see each other often. Let it go.

Gao Jian glanced at Wang Xianmao, then quickly scanned the direction of the Immortal Alliance cultivators, and finally said:

“Yes!”

He signaled his subordinates to drag away the corpse, bowed respectfully to both Wang Xianmao and the Immortal Alliance cultivators, and fled in disgrace.