Chapter 86: The End of Qingfeng

It was dusk; the lingering light pierced through the dense canopy, casting mottled, fragmented shadows.

Led by a crimson steed, dozens of demon horses moved in perfect formation, rapidly galloping toward Qingfeng Mountain.

Shen Yi fell to the rear, quietly gazing at the armored figure ahead.

Although he had never intended to hand over the Serpent Core, having acquired it so easily still left him slightly surprised.

By all rights, this General of the Zhen Mo Si had also contributed some effort to slaying the Serpent Demon...

Well, a great deal of effort.

Shen Yi felt somewhat helpless; when he was previously at the peak of the Initial Realm, facing a young serpent and a river demon both in the Jade Liquid Realm and both injured, the slaying was not particularly difficult overall.

He relied on various martial arts perfected to the peak of the Jade Liquid Realm, along with an endless supply of aura fueled by the expenditure of his lifespan.

But facing demons of the Nascent Core Realm, these martial arts gradually began to appear somewhat weak.

The old serpent dragon, having lost more than half its life to the iron halberd and bearing severe old wounds, in such a state, actually endured Shen Yi's Heavenly Star Blood Evil for nearly an hour.

In the end, only the Wolf Star Demon-Slaying Art and the Vein-Intercepting Dragon-Capturing Art deployed together managed to barely subdue it.

This was nearly all of Shen Yi's reserves.

If he encountered a Nascent Core demon in its prime next time, he dared not say he could defeat it; he feared even escaping would be difficult.

Fortunately, the gains from this journey were substantial.

The Yuan of a Jade Liquid Realm crocodile-beast, the inner core of a Nascent Core Realm serpent dragon, plus the eight hundred years accumulated before this, totaling over three thousand years of demon lifespan.

I wonder... can this help me successfully form a Nascent Core?

Shen Yi was somewhat unsure.

"Brother Shen, your courage is truly great!"

Hong Lei pulled on the reins and leaned over; seeing Shen Yi lost in complex thoughts, he lowered his voice: "Luckily, Chen Laoyezi has made progress in his realm again; if he had been trapped by that sword formation while you returned alone to pursue the serpent dragon, and something unfortunate happened, there would be no one to save you. You are young with a bright future; why gamble your life for merit?"

Having spoken, he let out a bitter smile: "But, you actually gambled correctly; rising from a Two-Stripe Captain to an Attendant Flank General in a few days is faster than my decades of grinding."

Judging by Shen Yi's age, he had entered the Zhen Mo Si for at most ten years.

What status an Attendant Flank General held within the bureau; above that remained only the Demon Hunters, the twelve Generals of the Zhen Mo Si, and the Grand Marshal.

As long as one was in Outside Qingzhou, even first-rate powers had to show respect to General Chen and treat him politely.

However, Hong Lei only marveled and did not feel envious.

Simply slaying a Nascent Core Realm serpent demon was something ordinary people could not do; look at the wounds on Shen Yi's shoulders and the sight of the serpent dragon finally having its head severed.

It must have been a fierce battle that left both sides thoroughly satisfied!

Thinking of this, Hong Lei could not help but feel his spirit yearn: "Heh! That old serpent demon, before dying, was surely subdued by Brother Shen's strength, allowing it to show the water creatures of the river the style of our Zhen Mo Si's prodigy!"

"..."

Shen Yi nodded slightly and sidestepped the topic: "What are the benefits of becoming an Attendant Flank General?"

He had not forgotten his purpose for joining the Zhen Mo Si.

"Benefits?" Hong Lei regained his composure and held up his palm: "Let me put it this way: whether in a sect or a noble family, for a master like you at the peak of the Jade Liquid Realm, unless you are of the direct bloodline or have signed some blood oath, obtaining a method to form a Nascent Core requires serving them for decades to gain their trust."

Hearing this, Shen Yi also recalled the Vajra Gate mentioned by Zhang the Butcher; let alone a Nascent Core method, even a martial art for tempering the body slightly inferior to the Nascent Core required chanting scriptures for fifty years and explaining the Dharma for fifty years.

He was somewhat puzzled: "Even at the peak of the Jade Liquid Realm, lifespan is only over three hundred years; wasting time on such useless matters, even if one obtains a Nascent Core method, what use is it?"

Hong Lei was slightly stunned, then smiled bitterly: "Brother Shen, to them, you are an outsider; the Nascent Core method is the foundation. As long as this method remains, a first-rate power will forever be a first-rate power, but if you take the method to the Zhen Mo Si... you should know, they would reject even a Zhen Mo Si Captain at the door, let alone a bureau constable, which is enough to show their resistance to the imperial court."

"Of course, there is a faster way; see Qingfeng Mountain? Other noble families have similar Ancestral Swords. If you are willing to sign a blood oath and serve as a family guardian, no one will be stingy given your strength."

"But since you have become an Attendant, at most ten years... no, five years..."

Seeing the slight furrow in Shen Yi's brow, Hong Lei clicked his tongue and corrected himself: "If luck is good and you establish great merit, three years is not impossible. The Nascent Core methods accepted by the imperial court are not lacking in high quality and can be chosen freely according to your needs; isn't that far better than those sects?"

Shen Yi felt slightly tempted and looked over: "Can it be even faster?"

Hearing this, Hong Lei's expression suddenly changed slightly; he looked around and found that Chen Laoyezi's crimson steed had long vanished from sight.

Only then did he reach out and press the hand holding the reins, using a secret sound-transmission technique: "Brother, you saved Old Hong's life; never let anyone else hear these words, or you will never have another chance in your life."

"If you won't even wait three years, who will guarantee you to the imperial court? Who dares believe that after forming a Nascent Core, you will guard Outside Qingzhou instead of withdrawing, or even joining a noble family or demons?"

Hearing this, Shen Yi lowered his eyes slightly.

He suddenly realized that although he had never deliberately revealed anything, in the eyes of outsiders, he had subtly shown signs of impatience.

In the thinking of ordinary people, mastering a single martial art takes ten or even dozens of years, and progress in realm cultivation is even slower, relying only on pills to pile up.

Yet his posture of wanting to scoop everything from the Zhen Mo Si and run immediately did not look like a sincere desire to learn arts, but rather like someone coming to steal martial arts.

I must pay more attention in the future.

"I know the temperament of geniuses like you; you wish to ascend to heaven in one day. Fang Heng was like this, Lin Baiwei was like this, and Bai Ziming was the same, but now one practices boxing in the Grand Marshal's mansion, one has become a Demon Hunter, and the other treats patients in a clinic."

Hong Lei sighed, then smiled: "Work first, eat later; this is the rule of the Zhen Mo Si... judging by General Chen's attitude now, regarding the Sword Pool Refinement, you have the best chance; those three will likely not be able to compete with you."

"Sword Pool Refinement?" Shen Yi felt slightly puzzled.

Hong Lei then realized the other party had left long ago and was not present at all: "Chen Laoyezi manifested his Yin Spirit, first beheading the Ancestral Master of the Zhang family, then beheading the Sect Master of Qingfeng, and smashed the Ancestral Sword with his halberd. The Sword Pool has become ownerless, temporarily managed by Chen Laoyezi. Although it cannot regenerate, it is enough to be used a few more times; a single use is worth half a lifetime of swallowing pills and hard cultivation!"

Ownerless?

Shen Yi turned his head to look, noticing there was more to the other's words: "What about the Qingfeng Sect?"

"That is why the older one gets, the more cunning one becomes."

With Chen Qiankun absent, Hong Lei spoke somewhat boldly: "The General knew long ago about the natural defect of the Qingfeng Sect Master; he deliberately surrounded them without annihilating, keeping all disciples to personally let them experience the power of the Ancestral Sword, causing them to lose faith in one another, then destroyed it. The remaining disciples were investigated by the Demon Hunters; those with no abnormalities were all absorbed into the Zhen Mo Si."

"It's hilarious; suddenly two Captains of the Nascent Core Realm appeared under General Chen."

Although those two Great Elders protecting the sect could rise quickly based on their strength, it was still an amusing anecdote.

"By the way, since you want a Nascent Core martial art, the General demonstrated it personally for you. As long as you can catch the tails that noble families and sects failed to hide, and have sufficient strength, you can completely replicate the events at Qingfeng Mountain; what is copying two books while transporting various martial arts and scriptures back?"

As Hong Lei spoke, he suddenly noticed a strange glint in the young man's eyes beside him.

He opened his mouth, doubting whether he had said something wrong.

(End of this chapter)