Chapter 111

Ji Tianrui.

The former leader of the Ming Sect, before being executed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was recognized as the most powerful and mysterious person in the entire Ordinary Jianghu.

Thirty years ago, the five major sects of Shaolin, Mount Wudang, Emei, Kunlun, and Kongtong besieged the Ming Sect's main altar; the leader died, the Ming Sect suffered heavy casualties, and was almost on the verge of being wiped out.

At this time, Ji Tianrui appeared.

No one knew who he was, no one knew where he came from, and no one even knew what he looked like.

Because on his face, he always wore a bronze mask, which he never took off.

Using the authentic Ming Sect peerless skills he learned from who knows where, he defeated the experts of the five major sects and preserved the Ming Sect's inheritance. Afterward, he was revered by the Ming Sect as their leader.

In the fifteen years that followed, he cultivated many disciples. Lan Lechuan and Mao Yingxia, who died at Li Miao's hands, were both his direct disciples and held high positions in the Ming Sect. He rarely appeared, but through these disciples, the Ming Sect was firmly in his grasp.

During these fifteen years, the Ming Sect also grew stronger, and its actions were not as extreme as before; instead, it became more and more like a righteous sect. In the Ordinary Jianghu, there gradually arose the saying: "Outside the Ordinary Jianghu belongs to the imperial court, above the Ordinary Jianghu belongs to the Ming Sect."

Then, he was hunted down and killed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the Miao frontier, and the Ming Sect went underground.

Li Miao had checked the Embroidered Uniform Guard's internal file on Ji Tianrui; the content inside was very sparse, basically just the above. The record of killing him back then also only had one sentence: "The thief leader Ji Tianrui is dead," with nothing else.

Li Miao had once tried to probe Zhu Zai about the details of that year in the Miao frontier, but all he got in return was Zhu Zai's silence.

Li Miao's investigation stopped there, with no further progress.

As for why Li Miao was so concerned about Ji Tianrui.

It's very simple; this person was the reason Li Miao hadn't left the capital for twenty years—from the moment Li Miao started practicing martial arts, he had always used him as his imaginary enemy.

To walk the Ordinary Jianghu, at the very least, you have to ensure you can beat the strongest person, right?

After all, there are many experts in this Ordinary Jianghu who died in inexplicable ways. Poisoning, sneak attacks, and sieges—Li Miao couldn't avoid these things.

So at the very least, he had to ensure that in a one-on-one fight, he wouldn't lose; only then could his life be considered somewhat guaranteed.

After learning from Yun Zelin that Ji Tianrui was still alive, Li Miao naturally paid even more attention to news about Ji Tianrui.

Returning to the present, Li Miao lowered his head and didn't speak, twisting his fingers and thinking secretly.

"Ji Tianrui, 'Ji' surname... Miao frontier... Gu-soldiers..."

He faintly felt that there was a clue connecting his several questions together.

Everyone was stunned by his series of actions; after a long while, Yin Yin Minjun approached: "Brother Li, this?"

Li Miao raised his head, smiled, and waved his hand.

"Nothing, nothing. I had some guesses for a moment and verified them, but didn't get a chance to inform everyone."

"These coffins should all contain the remains of the ancestors of the twelve Miao clans; they have Gu insects inside, but after years of decay, they are already fragile and pose no threat."

"Everyone, rest assured."

Hearing him say this, the crowd let out a long breath.

If these coffins were filled with the kind of "Pupa Girls" from the Miao King Tomb, they might as well not live.

After some conversation, led by Lao Qifeng, the crowd set off again toward the depths of the karst cave.

Li Miao, however, fell to the back, walking while twisting his fingers and thinking.

Yin Yin Minjun didn't disturb him, just followed by his side.

Li Miao thought for a while, then turned his head to look at Yin Yin Minjun: "Elder Yin, do you know the origin of the 'Ji' surname?"

He didn't think that Yin Yin Minjun, a Ordinary Jianghu person, could answer such an obscure question; he just asked it casually.

Yin Yin Minjun, however, replied: "Ji Tianrui's 'Ji'? There are many guesses about his background in the Ordinary Jianghu, and I have also checked ancient books, so I happen to remember."

"Tell me."

"Yes, ancient books say this surname has four origins, which are..."

Yin Yin Minjun explained it this way and that, and Li Miao's twisting fingers stopped.

"In that case, perhaps it matches up."

Li Miao had a rough guess in his heart; perhaps here in the Miao frontier, it could be verified.

And this matter of the Miao King Tomb should also be coming to a result.

Because during the time Li Miao was thinking, the crowd had already followed the sound of water to find a small stream; looking at the direction of the flow, it was flowing in from outside the karst cave.

Following this small stream, the crowd would soon be able to walk out of this karst cave.

And those few people from the Qingcheng Sect would definitely not wait until the crowd walked out of the karst cave to make a move.

Sure enough, just as the crowd reached a fork in the road, a Qingcheng Sect disciple exclaimed.

"There are footprints here!"

The crowd stopped, and Lao Qifeng turned back; sure enough, he saw several chaotic footprints on the ground, extending toward this fork in the road.

He thought for a moment, raised his head, and scanned everyone: "Everyone, what do you think?"

The Kongtong Sect Leader stroked his beard and said: "Looking at the traces of these footprints, they should have been left over a month ago."

"They should be those few grave robbers who discovered the 'Wedding Dress Divine Art'."

Lao Qifeng waved his hand: "Sect Leader Liu knows I'm not talking about this."

"We are only one step away from getting out; what I want to ask is, do you all want to go out directly, or do you want to explore the truth of this 'Wedding Dress Divine Art'?"

Lao Qifeng said with a solemn face: "The situation is unclear, and the person who harmed the Qingcheng disciple in the Miao King Tomb is still among us; we don't know how many there are... we absolutely must not split up."

"What are your plans?"

The Qingcheng Sect Leader gritted his teeth and said: "My Qingcheng Sect wants to go and see."

"You all can leave easily, but I lost two disciples. If I leave empty-handed, their lives were given in vain!"

Saying this on the surface, his heart was also bleeding.

He colluded with the Miao people, originally intending to trap everyone present, but didn't expect a Li Miao to pop up. As a result, everyone else was fine, but he lost two capable disciples!

They were not Miao people and did not know witchcraft and Gu. The Miao people had planted Gu insects in them in advance; as long as they used true energy to stimulate them, they could avoid being harmed by the Gu insects.

But he didn't expect that the moment the door opened, a Gu insect crawling out of a Pupa Girl's body would kill a disciple. The event happened too fast; he didn't even have time to stimulate the Gu insects in his body.

In the Miao King Tomb, he instructed his disciple to step on the platform, but didn't expect to be beheaded by Yin Yin Minjun, who was prepared.

Now that two disciples were dead, if he still couldn't achieve his scheme, he would have lost everything.

So he used the two lives of his disciples to speak, and the crowd couldn't refute him.

Moreover, everyone actually had the same thought: having experienced such danger, they had already found an exit. They couldn't just give up on even going to see the truth of the "Wedding Dress Divine Art," right?

Lao Qifeng sighed secretly and looked at Li Miao: "Hero Li, what are your plans?"

Li Miao spread his hands: "I was brought in by Elder Yin; I'm just here to watch the fun, I have no thoughts on the divine art."

"If you all want to go, I'll just follow."

Lao Qifeng looked at the crowd's gazes and nodded helplessly: "In that case, let's go and explore."

(End of chapter)