Chapter 469: Envoy

"Brother, are you going to do something dangerous?"

Xu Qing was no fool; Xu Yang giving her the Starlight at this moment was like settling his affairs before death.

Xu Yang smiled: "Don't worry. Your brother is just used to being cautious, used to considering every possible situation that might happen. This sword was destined to be given to you sooner or later."

Actually, it was his cautious personality at work. The matter of the Earth Vein Fire Valley was indeed dangerous, but with the Cold Abyss in hand, his confidence in surviving was very high.

If the situation turned bad, he would not stubbornly fight to the death.

"Be careful. I'm truly useless; I still can't help you even now." Xu Qing felt some self-blame.

Seeing her frown cutely, Xu Yang wanted to flick her nose again but finally held back: "Go back. Brother will be fine. It's unsafe recently; remember not to leave the Zong Sect."

"Brother will be away for over half a month. If you must leave, remember to take the Starlight."

"Mm!"

Xu Qing left with the Starlight. Xu Yang returned to his previous courtyard. Sun Tao had indeed returned, but his face was somewhat pale and his breath was chaotic.

"Senior Brother Sun, are you injured?" Xu Yang asked in surprise.

"Junior Brother Xu?"

Sun Tao smiled and stood up: "Suffered some injuries, but I'm much better now."

He was somewhat excited. After letting Xu Yang sit down, he couldn't wait to speak: "This time our luck was good. We joined forces with another assessment team also tasked with capturing Phantom Leopard cubs, and we actually found a den of Phantom Leopards. Zhang Yong and that person both completed the assessment task."

"Although everyone was injured, there were no casualties."

Xu Yang was somewhat surprised: "This task actually let you complete it? Doesn't that mean Zhang Yong has already entered the Beast King Peak?"

In two months, Zhang Yong truly led Sun Tao and others to successfully find the Phantom Leopards in the Yunling Mountain Range.

Sun Tao nodded: "He entered the Medicine King Peak several days ago. Now, in this Outer Sect, only I remain."

As he spoke, he felt somewhat desolate.

The few people closest to him had all entered the Inner Sect one by one, leaving only him struggling in the Outer Sect, which was inevitably painful.

"Senior Brother, the Inner Sect isn't necessarily good," Xu Yang said.

Sun Tao's talent was average. If he stayed content in the Outer Sect for ten years, perhaps he would meet a good end. If he entered the Inner Sect, he might die any day.

Entering the Inner Sect with a fully formed Qi Force doesn't mean one can immediately undergo Marrow Cleansing. One must also spend a great deal of time on dangerous tasks to earn contribution points to exchange for a Marrow Cleansing Elixir.

"I understand, but I can't accept it."

Sun Tao's face was full of unwillingness. He did not hope that ten years later, he would return to Liu Qingyuan County like Lin Cheng and become a martial arts school Master.

Although life was not bad, these were not what he wanted.

"By the way, this time we harvested a Pure Yang Grass and a Tiger Bone Vine. Do you want them, Junior Brother Xu?"

Xu Yang nodded: "Yes. What does Senior Brother Sun want in exchange?"

Sun Tao said: "Contribution points. My Qi Force is still far from perfect. I need contribution points to exchange for the Profound Origin Qi Transformation Elixir."

Xu Yang frowned. He had contribution points, but he had saved them to exchange for elixir formulas.

The elixir formulas were very important for his future cultivation and could not be delayed.

As his cultivation base grew deeper and deeper, the effect of the Gathering Yuan Elixir became worse and worse; only an elixir of the Marrow Cleansing Realm would suffice.

After deliberating for a moment, Xu Yang said: "I don't have extra contribution points right now. Senior Brother, if you are not in a hurry, could you wait a few days? I will exchange a Ten-All Great Supplement Elixir with you."

There were still a few days before going to the Earth Vein Fire Valley. He could spare time to go down the mountain and refine a batch of Gathering Yuan Elixirs.

Originally, he did not plan to risk going down the mountain at this time, but for the Pure Yang Grass and Tiger Bone Vine in Senior Brother Sun's hands, he could only go to Qingyang City first.

He hadn't been to Wanbaoge for two months. He could buy two Ten-All Great Supplement Elixirs from Wanbaoge. Two Ten-All Great Supplement Elixirs were enough to exchange for the Tiger Bone Vine and Pure Yang Grass in Senior Brother Sun's hands.

"Agreed!"

Sun Tao nodded: "My injuries need some time to heal, so I'm not in a hurry to cultivate for now."

Saying this, he stood up, went to fetch the Pure Yang Grass and Tiger Bone Vine, and handed them to Xu Yang.

While it was still early, he immediately returned to Li Huo Peak, took the Cold Abyss and strapped it to his back, took twenty contribution points, exchanged a thirty-year-old ginseng at the Zashidian, combined it with the Tiger Bone Vine and Pure Yang Grass given by Sun Tao to form a set of main ingredients, and then rushed out of the Ziyang Sect like the wind and lightning.

On the way, he encountered no trouble, arrived smoothly at Wanbaoge, bought the Ten-All Great Supplement Elixir, and also prepared a set of ingredients for refining the Gathering Yuan Elixir.

Two days later, he returned to the Ziyang Sect and handed the two Ten-All Great Supplement Elixirs to Sun Tao.

"This... is too much!" Sun Tao declined.

One Tiger Bone Vine and one Pure Yang Grass, if handed to the Ziyang Sect, would yield only fifty contribution points, not enough to exchange for even two Returning Origin Elixirs, yet Xu Yang gave him two Ten-All Great Supplement Elixirs.

Xu Yang didn't mind. Such transactions were inherently hard to make fair.

He was about to speak when suddenly he felt the sound of wind by his ear, and a head was thrown in from outside.

The head was covered in blood, its eyes unsealed in death, rolling until it stopped at the feet of the two.

Xu Yang frowned slightly, turned his head, and saw Lu Ren and a burly man striding in from outside.

"Is he the murderer who killed Senior Brother Jiang Ping?" Lu Ren pointed at the head on the ground and asked.

Hearing this, Sun Tao hurriedly picked up the head from the ground and nodded: "He is one of them."

Lu Ren's expression was cold: "Good. The rest of the Profound Blade Five Tigers are already dead. I only brought this head back for you to confirm. I said I would avenge Senior Brother Jiang Ping."

"I, Lu Ren, am not an ungrateful person."

Having finished speaking, disregarding the reactions of Xu Yang and Sun Tao, he left with that man in long strides.

Sun Tao stood there dazed, not expecting that Lu Ren, who had promised to avenge Jiang Ping back then, had truly done it.

They had not failed to try avenging Jiang Ping, but they could not find any trace of the Profound Blade Five Tigers.

"Senior Brother Jiang Ping, you can rest in peace now!"

Sun Tao didn't mind the bad omen. He immediately placed the head on the table, offered tea to mourn Jiang Ping, and felt a pent-up anger in his heart dissipate, feeling as if his injuries had even improved somewhat.

Regardless of whether Lu Ren did this to rebuild his image or truly to repay past kindness, he had ultimately killed the Profound Blade Five Tigers who murdered Jiang Ping.

"By the way, why has Lu Ren changed so much?"

After the mourning ended, Sun Tao finally remembered Lu Ren's change.

The former Lu Ren, his entire body radiating a murderous aura, was like a lone wolf.

But he discovered that the Lu Ren he had seen earlier was full of spirit and ambition, seemingly transformed back into the celebrated genius Lu Ren of Liu Qingyuan County.

Xu Yang said, "He entered the Li Fire Peak, displayed extraordinary talent in forging weapons, and was taken as an inner disciple by Elder Tie Fu, naturally restoring his former demeanor."

Sun Tao suddenly understood: "No wonder..."

Having become an inner disciple of Elder Tie Fu, Lu Ren could be said to have regained his momentum; even if his character had some flaws before, few people would care anymore.

To become an inner disciple without even achieving minor success in Bone Marrow Cleansing, one can imagine how high his weapon-forging talent must be to make a peak Elder break the rules.

"The Beast King Peak's inheritance of the Beast King, if junior brother Zhang Yong also had talent in this area, it would be good."