Chapter 978: The Great Sun Sword Disciple and the Affectionate Dao Disciples

"I often suspect the sect has gone mad."

"They want us to go with the Great Sun Sword Disciple to execute a mission in the Jiao Jiao Mingyu."

An Tu Zi whispered via sound transmission to the disciples around him: "What difference is there between this and sending wolves to guard sheep?"

"The Ancestors' desire for the Void Refinement realm and beyond has made them lose their reason; we, the juniors, dare not remonstrate at all."

"What Senior Brother An says aligns perfectly with my heart..."

The Taiyi Taiyi Qingmu Disciple, Ji Liuyue, revealed a bitter expression.

"By the way,"

"When was the last time we met him?"

Brother Brother Xuanwu, the Disciple, thought of something, felt a chill in his heart, and asked repeatedly.

"Three hundred fifty-six years, seven months, and twenty-seven days ago, in the Yin-Yang Void Realm."

The Heavenly Mechanism Disciple immediately replied.

"That long?"

The disciples around instantly trembled in terror.

Array patterns sprang forth among them; instinctively, they formed arrays with one another, practiced to the extreme, far superior by countless levels compared to hundreds of years ago. Clearly, they had practiced countless times during these centuries, achieving a qualitative leap.

"Logically speaking,"

"He should have already fallen into a bloodthirsty frenzy. This is the instinct of the Great Sun Sword Disciple; fresh blood must be used to nourish him. Recently, haven't we heard of any Soul Transformation cultivators dying?"

The Heavenly Mechanism Disciple asked in confusion.

He carelessly extended his divine sense, scanning the youth in blue robes not far away to confirm his state, so as to make decisions regarding combat or escape.

"There are, Xu Gao Jie's two... but, still not enough..."

The disciples around whispered among themselves.

Despite their worry, the few of them, accompanied by the sect elders, stepped forward.

"Senior Brother Zhenjun Shenji..."

"Senior Brother Yuding..."

The sect masters of the Badaxian Sect and Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun bowed and shook hands like old friends of many years; each respected the other's customs, showing no trace of estrangement.

The elders departed together, discussing matters of cooperation between the sects as they walked.

There was no grand welcome ceremony; after all, it was wartime, with extremely high confidentiality requirements, so there was no such extravagance or noise.

"Greetings, fellow Daoists."

"It has been a long time."

Jiang Ding stepped forward. As the host, he showed a warm smile to welcome the guests: "You have been arranged to rest at Qingfeng University. Yu Yu Qianzi has experience in this regard; let me introduce you..."

"This way..."

He acted like a servant, enthusiastically leading the way.

The Heavenly Mechanism Disciple and others instantly felt a chill of disgust.

"Jiang Ding Zi, do not show such a smile."

The Taiyi Taiyi Qingmu Disciple, Ji Liuyue, frowned her beautiful brows: "This makes people feel quite uncomfortable."

"I warn you, the Central Array Spirit Computer is monitoring here; you will have no opportunity."

"The Jiao Jiao Mingyu is the same."

She added: "If you dare to act against us, I will immediately activate the Void Refinement means given by the Ancestor. If we are exposed, so be it; it has nothing to do with me. It is all your fault."

"Yes, Jiang Ding Zi, you had best put away your little schemes."

"This matter is also crucial to the Dongji Demon Gate; you had best not lose the big picture for a small gain..."

"... the righteousness of our Human Race..."

The disciples around spoke one after another, issuing clear warnings.

"This talk..."

Jiang Ding's expression froze.

These damn dogs!

He had finally been kind to them once, deliberately trying to build a relationship with them so that the upcoming cooperation could proceed smoothly, yet he received such suspicion in return; it was truly disappointing.

"Ungrateful!"

"Then you can stay safely in the Immortal Gate."

Jiang Ding withdrew his smile and said displeasedly: "Remember, do not act rashly; you must obey all the laws of the Immortal Gate, or do not blame me for being unyielding."

"You can rest assured of that."

An Tu Zi breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Ji Liuyue and others felt their tension ease slightly. In their eyes, the Great Sun Sword Disciple's abnormality had somewhat recovered; this was normal, a state possessing reason.

The few of them exchanged no pleasantries; there was no such closeness, so they immediately began discussing the situation in the Jiao Jiao Mingyu.

"A hundred years... it is still too urgent. Why can't we wait until we reach the peak of Nascent Soul?"

An Tu Zi complained: "This amount of time is barely enough to refine magical treasures, let alone cultivate concealment techniques, cultivate the Dongji Demon Gate's detection arts, and learn the language of the Jiao Jiao Mingyu... and so on. There is almost no spare time; the preparation is insufficient."

"There is no way; the situation is such."

"The fluctuations of the passage between the two realms are growing larger and larger, becoming increasingly difficult to suppress..."

The Heavenly Mechanism Disciple shook his head. Looking at Jiang Ding, he said with some envy: "Jiang Ding Zi, you also seem to be proficient in concealment arts? Alas, this is indeed an important ability. Without the sect's protection, concealment arts are crucial. It seems I too must study this path in the future."

"I am merely passable."

Jiang Ding said modestly.

"Shadow Demon Disciple does not say so."

The Disciple of Heavenly Mechanism gave no definite answer, saying, "From now on, if it is not necessary, could we avoid contact?"

"If we need anything, we will find Teacher Gu Lin ourselves; she should be very willing to help. We also have much experience to share with her, so there is no need to trouble you."

"Why push people away from a thousand miles?"

"Disciple of Heavenly Mechanism, your words make me feel somewhat hurt."

"in my heart."

Jiang Ding sighed, saying, "I wholeheartedly sought to befriend all of you Daoist companions, full of expectation and full of goodwill, yet I did not expect that upon arriving, I would face your exclusion and disdain."

"This makes my self-esteem somewhat unbearable."

Whoosh!

The Disciple of Heavenly Mechanism and others traversed space, instantly retreating several kilometers, watching him warily.

They all seemed to have seen it.

The excuse had already been found.

Next, he would use that damn broken sword, that mad rotten sword, to do whatever he wanted.

"Sigh!"

"It seems it is indeed impossible to become friends with all of you Daoist companions."

Jiang Ding sighed.

He withdrew the hand he had placed on the sword hilt at some unknown time, putting it down as if nothing had happened.

'That's it!'

'I knew it would be like this!!'

An Tu Zi, Ji Liuyue, and others cursed loudly in their hearts.

After standing stiffly for a moment, they followed up again as if nothing had happened.

"Jiao Jiao Mingyu truly has many Imperial Sons."

The Disciple of Heavenly Mechanism took a deep breath and said earnestly, "We are all of the Human Race; why must we fight amongst ourselves?"

"Those Imperial Sons are guilty of heinous crimes, utterly evil; since they refused to commit suicide before us, they have long deserved death. They truly need your rescue; there is no need to keep staring at us all day."

"The current situation is difficult; this is precisely the time for sincere unity!"

He seemed to carry the light of the Righteous Path, intending to lead the Human Race to revival and toward a broader starry expanse of realms.

An Tu Zi, Brother Brother Xuanwu, and other Disciples appeared to deeply agree.

"That sounds good."

"It sounds even better than singing."

Jiang Ding curled his lips, saying, "You treacherous and cunning wretch of Heavenly Mechanism, tell me, what did you do inside the prototype of my Sword Realm space?"

"Was there no great cause of the Human Race at that time?"

"If my vigilance had been slightly lower, I would already be dead now."

During the last journey to the Yin-Yang Void Realm, the Disciple of Heavenly Mechanism used the secret technique to collect the Primordial Qi of Xuan Huang, leaving a huge hidden danger inside the prototype of his Sword Realm, one capable of causing the Sword Realm prototype to collapse.

"What Sword Realm space prototype?"

The Disciple of Heavenly Mechanism was stunned.

"Pretend, continue pretending."

"Pretending as if it were real."

Jiang Ding smiled.

The gazes of the surrounding Disciples flickered slightly, as if they all had suspicions.

"Daoist companion, you misunderstood me."

The Disciple of Heavenly Mechanism said sincerely, "If you have any doubts, please explain them in detail; let us discuss them together. I, Heavenly Mechanism, have a clear conscience; there must be some misunderstanding involved, so please speak plainly."

"No need."

"Daoist companion, at that time, you were indeed superior in skill, and I greatly admire you."

Jiang Ding waved his hand, unwilling to get entangled in anything further.

He led them toward the Soul Transformation-level dormitories of Qingfeng University, settled them in, and introduced them to various aspects of the place.

Afterwards, he notified Lin Master Dinghai Zhenjun to take over, then took his leave and departed.

Subsequently, he notified Teacher Gu Lin to take over, then took his leave.