Chapter 33: Autumn Lotus

Amidst the commotion, Seeing Pei Ye gripped Shang Lang's sleeve: "Just how formidable is this Lord Zhu?"

Shang Lang turned a face that had yet to recover from the shock: "How formidable is Brother Zhu... Brother Zhu's surname is Zhu, given name Wu, courtesy name Gaoyang. He is the first true disciple of the 【Long Jun Dongting】 sword lineage. He entered the Crane Ranking at the start of the year, ranked two hundred and ninety-sixth, with the Immortal Platform's judgment: 【Snow Case Hiding Sword】."

Zhu Gaoyang!

Zhu Gaoyang!

Seeing Pei Ye opened his mouth, but no words came out.

If one were to say that during the two years Seeing Pei Ye spent reading the Crane and Duck Records, Yan Feiqing was the absolute protagonist who advanced the most rapidly, performed with the most dominance, and came killing his way up from below with unstoppable momentum, then Zhu Gaoyang was the myth of the previous generation who had long stood at the pinnacle, casting a final glance at those desperately chasing behind him before calmly stepping into the Mystic Gate.

Now, having stepped into the Master Realm for only four years—a time when a normal person should still be polishing themselves on the first layer of the Jade Staircase—he had already ascended the Crane Ranking and was contending with those old monsters who had topped the Mystic Gate for who knows how long.

And yet, such a figure had now lost all trace.

At this moment, Seeing Pei Ye could fully understand the panic of Shang Lang and Xing Zhi.

It was perhaps like two squirrels afraid to pass through the dark, snake-and-insect-ridden grass ahead, when a fine steed arrived to pick them up onto its back, leisurely stepping across.

The two squirrels were looking down at the shallow grass below with immense peace and joy, when suddenly the space beneath them emptied; the fine steed had actually been swallowed by this patch of grass!

The two squirrels sat on the ground with a "plop," looking up in a daze; the grass leaves obscured the sky, and hissing sounds drifted from the darkness all around.

Seeing Pei Ye looked up at the continuous high mountains outside the village, his thoughts unsettled.

Zhu Gaoyang had entered the Xin Cang Mountains in pursuit of the traces of the Candle World Sect, yet now there was no news of him. The remaining power of the Candle World Sect exceeded everyone's imagination; what were they plotting while hiding in the mountains?

The Immortal Hunt descending to the world, the demon tiger eating people, the evil sect lying in ambush—everything was gathered in these dim, vast mountains. Seeing Pei Ye stroked his dantian, wondering what role he played in this great web.

Xing Zhi took a deep breath, sorted out her emotions, and said with a solemn face: "Gather the soldiers! We are leaving this village immediately."

Jing Ziwang turned his head abruptly, his tiger-like eyes fixed on her: "Master Xing, what did you say?"

Xing Zhi had already pulled out another letter and was writing rapidly with her head lowered, not even looking up as she said: "Lord Jing, you are a Commandant of the Assault, you should be more perceptive than I am. If even Brother Zhu could meet with an accident, then the matters here are not something we can resolve."

Jing Ziwang raised his brows: "Not to mention whether this is the same matter, even if it were, are we to abandon these villagers—they just thought a savior had arrived."

Xing Zhi was not angry, saying calmly: "Lord Jing, you wish to preserve the realm and pacify the people; that is your duty. I also respect your willingness to die for it. But we serve the orders of the Northern Office and handle the errands of the Immortal Platform. If we are wiped out here, the Immortal Platform won't even be able to find anyone who understands the situation."

"Hah." Jing Ziwang sneered, "So much for the Longwu Army and the Immortal Platform; it turns out you are just a bunch of lambs who flee in a panic the moment your leader dies."

Xing Zhi finished the letter, raised her head, and glanced at him: "Does Lord Jing think we are returning to the County Magistrate's office?"

Without waiting for an answer, she turned to look at the soldiers gathering: "Xu Qing, Zhang Liu, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhang, you four split up and return to Fenghuai to report. The rest of you, prepare your swords and halberds; in half a quarter of an hour, follow me into the mountains to find Lord Zhu."

Jing Ziwang's face turned livid, and he shouted: "Since you aren't afraid of death, why not first eradicate this evil tiger for the villagers?!"

"Because it would waste time, Lord Jing." Xing Zhi released the green bird, took the horse reins, and glanced at him: "I shouldn't have to teach you this principle—some people's lives are far more precious."

Even though staying here could clearly increase the chances of victory against the evil tiger and save a village of commoners, even though this group entering the mountains would likely not even make a splash, and even though Zhu Gaoyang might have already unfortunately perished, Xing Zhi still chose to bet on that side.

Shang Lang's expression shifted uncertainly; he swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said: "Sister Xing Zhi... if Brother Zhu were here... he wouldn't agree to this either."

"Then he should be here!" Xing Zhi's brows stood up, "How many times! He likes to play the hero alone! Does he not know how many lives are tied to him?"

Shang Lang mumbled, and Xing Zhi took a breath, saying in a flat voice: "I am the one in charge now; go get the horses."

The argument on the field did not enter Seeing Pei Ye's ears.

Because a sense of yearning rose from his abdomen; he felt his dantian stirring.

Ever since the wine cellar, the dragon tongue in his abdomen had once again conveyed a clear intent—something was pulling and calling to it; it was thirsty, it wanted to return to its nest.

The seed, it was the seed... that dantian seed was nearby!

Seeing Pei Ye looked around, confirming the direction of this feeling, when suddenly his gaze narrowed—it was in the village!

Just at this moment, a sharp, miserable scream erupted from the village.

Several people stiffened and turned their heads to look at the same time.

That was the place where the women had gathered to pick and wash vegetables, with chickens, fish, and game laid out on the ground, intending to prepare a simple banquet for the soldiers who had come to the village.

At this moment, water was splashed all over the ground, and people were fleeing in panic in all directions.

Behind them was a freakishly tall, hunched humanoid figure; its dark, bluish-black skin shimmered with scale-like luster under the firelight, and the sharp claws on its upper limbs had pierced through the necks of one woman after another, blood bubbling out and rapidly stealing the luster from the women's eyes.

With a wave of its hand, it tossed the corpse in its hand onto the ground, raised its head, revealing a yaksha-like face, and its cold, golden-yellow pupils looked toward the fleeing crowd ahead.

With a leap, it caught up to another crying girl.

The sharp claws were raised, but when they were about to swing down, they suddenly paused; a trace of human-like struggle and confusion appeared on its face, but it was quickly replaced by coldness, and the sharp claws swung down again.

But it was this pause that left it with no further opportunity to commit murder.

The water in the water vat seemed to come alive, turning into thousands of fine, tough silk threads, blooming like flowers, tightly binding that ferocious body.

This was precisely the 【Water Autumn Lotus】 of the Long Jun Dongting art lineage, recorded in the "Jade Dragon Autumn Water Sutra"; this spiritual sutra ranked seventy-second in the Spiritual Sutra section of the "Spiritual Mystic Grand Canon" compiled by the Immortal Platform.

This scene was certainly not as spectacular as the water dragon from that night, but in the eyes of an insider, the difference between the two was like clouds and mud.

Although the water power that night was strong, it relied mostly on the heavy rain; Shen Yanping had only practiced the use of magic tools a few times at the Immortal Platform, and his technique was barely at the entry level—rough and violent, with perhaps seven parts of the water power being wasted.

But now, in the hands of a true veteran practitioner, a single vat of water erupted with continuous, powerful obstruction, and every fine stream was precisely controlled in its direction—the complexity was astonishing.

If this level of technique had been used that night, Wu Zai Gu would not have had the chance to walk out of the County Magistrate's office.

Following closely behind the art was a heavy, large halberd flying through the air.

Accompanied by the hissing of the air, the large halberd pierced through its abdomen, and with the remaining momentum, it nailed it deeply to the ground.

As Xing Zhi withdrew her sword finger, she also withdrew her gaze; without lingering at all, she turned her head and, without a word, took the lead in whipping her horse toward the deep mountains. ===== CHAPTER 34 =====