Chapter 500: The Brutality and Sophistication of the Bandits

After a round of pleasantries among them, the atmosphere immediately livened up considerably.

Clear tea curled in wisps, they discussed the mysteries and debated the Dao, each gaining something, especially Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun—this man's understanding of spells, Gong Fa, and the like was profoundly deep, not confined to the Blood Dao.

Regarding Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun's Dao of Thunder, the Yu family's Dao of Wind also proved to have considerable insight.

Every few sentences of commentary struck straight to the crux, bringing sudden enlightenment; after several hours, everyone felt the regret of not having met sooner.

The father and son of the Yu family, who had still harbored a secret notion of informing General General Heishi in exchange for a great reward, now completely abandoned that thought entirely.

Beneath a great reputation there is no empty scholar.

Others who had clawed their way through several hundred years, surviving the encirclements and suppressions of numerous families in the Northern Plains, had already brought every aspect of their Dao cultivation to perfection; the secret communication methods they thought were hidden might, the moment they were sent out, be known at once.

When that time came…

Yu Zhong secretly shivered.

General General Heishi is no enlightened lord; their ancestor died bearing a wrongful grievance back then, the Yu family must not tread that same path again.

"Rider Lord, may I ask what manner of heroes the two beside you are?"

Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun asked.

"Ha ha, I was just about to introduce them to Daoist Brother Bai Mei."

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun pointed to a handsome youth on the left with semi-transparent skin: "This is my second brother, Li Tu."

"Dong Xue Shou Ren Mo!"

Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun's expression changed.

This one was truly renowned; compared to Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun, he looked the typical Blood Dao cultivator, his bearing cold and eerie. Looking back at his past, he was extremely fond of slaughter, unconcerned with whether his victims were loose cultivators or family-born, and would at the slightest provocation butcher a million in a city, refining them into a river of blood to be absorbed into his Blood Hand.

Along his Dao's path, who knew how many Jin Dan and Foundation Establishment families and sects had been utterly massacred, every living thing wiped out.

"Greetings, Daoist friend."

Dong Xue Shou Ren Mo Li Tu's lips twitched slightly, revealing a stiff smile.

"Greetings, Daoist friend."

The three hurriedly rose to bow, not daring the slightest slack.

"This is my third brother, Tie Tie Xingzhong."

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun then pointed to a wizened old man on the right with skin black and blue, as if cast from spiritual metal.

"Greetings, Daoist friend Iron Bone Pagoda!"

Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun and the other two were startled once more.

This Tie Tie Xingzhong was born of a branch line of the Guishan Tie family, the foremost of the orthodox Dao; for reasons unknown he slaughtered numerous core-line Jin Dan cultivators of the Tie family along with tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators, and defected from the Tie family.

What he cultivated was the Tie family's "Steel Sinews Iron Bones Mountain-Receiving Method," and being divinely gifted, his body-tempering Gong Fa had been honed to perfection; he was called Iron Bone Pagoda, and it was said that ordinary peak Jin Dan cultivators' spells and dharma treasures could not wound him in the slightest.

Tie Tie Xingzhong gave a slight nod, saying nothing.

One could tell these two were quite proud, looking down on the three of them, with no interest in idle chat.

Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun and the others felt no dissatisfaction whatsoever; on the contrary, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Bai Mei, do you know where the Master Tushan Sword Cultivator is?"

Dong Xue Shou Ren Mo Li Tu addressed him by name directly, asking without ceremony.

"Second brother, be more courteous to Daoist friend Bai Mei; what we have today could not have been achieved without the help of friends from all sides."

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun gave a wry smile.

"I wouldn't dare."

Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun, however, was quite accustomed to this; in the Cultivation World the strong are honored, and he acknowledged himself inferior, so it was only proper. He cupped his fist and said: "When I came to the Northern Plains, Daoist friend Master Tushan was still at his Master Tushan Xiancheng."

"As for the matter of Tong Gu Jiang…"

Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun said apologetically: "Back then, the journey was long and I knew nothing of it either; please forgive me, Daoist friend."

Dong Xue Shou Ren Mo neither agreed nor disagreed.

"Ahem."

"Daoist Brother Bai Mei."

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun broke the slightly stiff atmosphere, saying: "You may not know this yet—a friend of mine sent word from that Region; Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun once went to Master Tushan Xiancheng."

"Now, there is no longer any Master Tushan Xiancheng or Huaxuedian or the like; there is only General General Heishi's Master Tushan Domain."

"A Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun?"

Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun's body shook, his face deathly pale.

Xiang Qiyu Sect was the place of his birth and growth, the place he had fought desperately to protect for over five hundred years, almost the sole lifelong attachment of his existence, with his feelings for it running immensely deep.

"Daoist brother, please set your mind at ease."

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun did not play coy, and comforted him: "Zhou Zhou Sanyan, and your disciple Li Li Qingyun, successfully escaped; General General Heishi did not expend much effort on them."

"Not only that, the Master Tushan Sword Cultivator and Huaxue both escaped successfully; especially the Master Tushan Sword Cultivator—this man being able to escape alive from under Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun's hand is indeed extraordinary."

He sighed in admiration.

Dong Xue Shou Ren Mo and Tie Tie Xingzhong also showed solemn expressions.

Though their names shook the Northern Plains and they looked down on ordinary peak Jin Dan cultivators, when facing a Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun, they knew all too well the gap between them.

For the Master Tushan Sword Cultivator to have escaped from Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun's grasp—whether by luck or by strength—meant he was no ordinary figure.

"Zhou Sanyan and Li Qingyun escaped?"

Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun said joyfully, a spark of hope igniting in his ashen heart.

He trusted Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun's intelligence fairly well; this man had a wide circle of friends, and those friends might include branch-line clansmen of the Shang and General Heishi families. Relying on the channels of those two great families, many matters could be learned in advance.

"Many thanks for informing me, Rider Lord."

Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun bowed deeply, and volunteered: "You wish to ask whether the Master Tushan Sword Cultivator has contacted me, yes? I swear upon my Dao heart that this man and I are merely acquaintances of a few meetings, with no relationship at all; during this stay in the Northern Plains, I have never encountered him either."

"Should I discover anything, I will inform the Rider Lord at once."

His posture grew ever lower, faintly carrying the meaning of submission.

Clearly, it was an almost explicit declaration that he wished to leap onto the ship of the Blood Cloud Eighteen Riders, to pursue the Dao of Nascent Soul, and would not regret it even after a hundred deaths.

"I trust Daoist Brother Bai Mei."

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun was overjoyed, and helped him up.

"Our search for the Master Tushan sword cultivators is not necessarily about avenging Ninth Brother and the others."

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun deliberated for a moment, then spoke his true thoughts: "Ninth Brother and the others were also in the wrong, a bit overbearing—I know all of that. If only the Master Tushan sword cultivator would kneel before the graves of Ninth Brother and the two of them, wear mourning clothes and mourning cap for three years, I would be willing to become sworn brothers with him, to die on the same year, same month, same day, to pursue the Great Dao of Nascent Soul together, never to betray each other for all eternity."

"The Rider Lord is magnanimous; we cannot compare."

True Person Bai Mei revealed a trace of envy.

This meant being incorporated into the ranks of the Blood Cloud Eighteen Riders from the very start, treated as equals, sharing the Nascent Soul Gong Fa, no longer needing to fight for his life like himself, going through all kinds of trials just to obtain it.

As for mourning for three years, in his view it was merely a method to pacify the internal faction.

Although it seemed rather shameful, compared to the Great Dao of longevity, it was utterly insignificant.

As for the reason, naturally it was because of strength.

To be able to escape from the hands of a Nascent Soul cultivator was too world-shocking; such a person had great use.

In the sky, Jiang Ding silently watched the few people chatting amiably.

A wisp of killing intent slowly faded away.

The others could be let be, but Dong Xue Shou Ren Mo Li Tu was too fond of slaughtering mortals—often massacring a million at a time, refining them into a River of Living Souls and Blood—which greatly displeased him, violating his fundamental moral principles.

Normally, whenever he encountered such, he would casually kill them off; whoever blocked him would die.

"Bandits, disorder, riots, bloodshed—these are their norm."

Jiang Ding Zi muttered: "His mission has not yet ended; I cannot kill him. I must wait until he completes his historical mission of shaking the order of the Northern Plain families, only then can this anti-human cultivator be killed."

Having said this, he no longer paid attention to what the few were secretly discussing, and turned to leave.

(End of this chapter)