Chapter 274

Cold dew startles the late autumn, morning sees chrysanthemums gradually yellow. A thousand homes sweep leaves in the wind, ten thousand miles of wild geese follow the sun.

Sunlight has not yet penetrated, white dew is vast and boundless.

A large group of cultivators passed through Zilang Prefecture, which is under Anyuan City, and were grandly entertained by the local Prefect.

They had just come from the northwest, starting from the Dongping Mountain Range, and had searched all the way to this place; at this time, they were somewhat exhausted, and their faces also carried solemnity.

Although Bu Qirong was dead, those decrepit Immortal Sect Elders had not given up.

They ordered them to conduct a continuous three-day search of the mountains, attempting to find if there were any surviving Bu family disciples, but... they found nothing.

Subsequently, they went to investigate the winery, investigated the Bu family's main branch mansion, visited the local government office, and consulted the county gazetteer.

Countless complicated pieces of news were collected in a basket, stacked together chaotically.

These pieces of information were not yet clear whether they were useful or not, just waiting to be handed over to the Elders, perhaps they could be straightened out into a line.

Jiang Yan, Yan Qiubai, and Jiang Yuerou were also resting here, along with Jiang Chenfeng, Xie Chenyu, and others who were seriously injured, intending to take an Immortal Ship back to their sect.

Between eating and drinking, their fatigue eased quite a bit, and their tense heartstrings gradually relaxed.

But just at this moment, the sound of gongs and drums on the street attracted their attention.

So they walked out of the Prefect's mansion and looked outward.

On the official road of Zilang City, government runners collecting taxes and tributes were driving grain carts back and forth, their authority-wielding staves held high, looking peerlessly martial.

Some hunched commoners were carrying heavy sacks toward this place, walking toward the horse carts under the arrogant gaze of the government runners.

Some elderly people were often kicked and beaten because their speed in carrying the bags was too slow.

The Zilang Prefect stood beside them, bowing and scraping: "Every year after the autumn harvest is the day our prefecture collects taxes and tributes; half of the grain is put into the national treasury, and half is sent to our Immortal Sect to support all the immortals."

Some Mountain Sea Pavilion disciples couldn't help but ask curiously after hearing this: "Can we immortals eat so much grain?"

"A portion of it will be exchanged for gold and silver, flowing back into the market to be sold back to the commoners, and another portion is purchased by Yunzhou to support the miners of the entire prefecture; what is exchanged for all the immortals are spirit stones."

"There is also a portion exchanged by Central Province and Yuzhou to support the workers in the spirit seedling fields; in short, it will make the Immortal Masters satisfied."

These cultivators had sat in the deep mountains for years practicing, ignoring worldly affairs; many were knowing for the first time that their daily food and clothing came from this, feeling it was vivid and lively.

Seeing that the immortals were quite interested in this, the Zilang Prefect spoke again: "However, this year, the tax and tribute for the immortals might be a little less."

"Why is that?"

"A new trading firm opened in the city, hiring a large number of our commoners to work, promising that by the day of tax and tribute collection, it would be paid in full, but..."

The Mountain Sea Pavilion disciple's brow furrowed slightly: "Not enough to pay the amount?"

The Zilang Prefect waved his hand at the sound: "The amount is enough, but there will inevitably be losses on the transport road, especially with continuous rain these past few days; many have sprouted on the road, and this kind can no longer be used."

"There is such a thing?"

"This official has been having a headache about this matter for the past few days; it just happened that all the immortals were passing by this road, so I dared to ask the immortals to make the decision for this little official."

The Zilang Prefect waved his sleeve and summoned a young man from behind him: "Yesterday, my son took people to reason with the immortals, but was kicked and beaten by that manager and driven out the door."

The Zilang Prefect's son also stepped forward and bowed: "That dog-shit trading firm doesn't know whose power they are relying on; it's truly hateful, and they even insulted the Immortal Sect; they are simply stubborn commoners!"

Actually, since Bu Qirong died, those Elders anxious to extend their lives had been moody, and some disciples also had anger with nowhere to vent.

Hearing these words, some busybodies raised their heads proudly, wanting to go see what was going on, and incidentally find some sense of existence as immortals to balance their Dao hearts.

So the Zilang Prefect and his son kowtowed three times and bowed nine times, leading the way forward.

In fact, when grain is transported, it is covered by rainproof cloth; even if it gets damp, it won't easily sprout.

And the so-called loss is actually not because of transport, but man-made.

The government runners all know that what is on the grain carts is tax and tribute, and they don't dare to reach out easily, but the local officials always can't help but have ideas.

Because in the years before this trading firm, the commoners' taxes and tributes were all collected by them; asking for more to fill their own pockets was a fixed rule.

But with the increase in migrant workers, this trading firm bypassed the individual households and directly paid the grain publicly; the accounts were checked very clearly, so that the opportunity to fish for some oil and water was almost non-existent.

The Zilang Prefect was a new official with three fires, and had been eyeing this trading firm for a long time.

Now that he had borrowed the power of the immortals, he was naturally impatient.

And seeing them go far away, the remaining crowd couldn't help but chuckle.

It is inevitable that some people on the mountain are lonely and want to be high and mighty, but for others, it is best to do less of this kind of thing that easily makes the Dao heart mottled.

However, very soon, those who followed them walked back with complex expressions, holding a bag of grain in their hands.

The Zilang Prefect and his legitimate son who followed behind them looked slightly terrified, lowering their heads and not speaking all the way.

Because just now, those Immortal Masters didn't even enter the door, but just talked to the manager of that trading firm on equal terms, and then turned around and walked back.

And what made them terrified was that that manager was actually just a mortal.

"Did that trading firm soften their stance?"

"They spoke quite politely; when the chat was happy, they even sold us a few bags of grain at a high price..."

"???"

Showing off power will affect the Dao heart, but curiosity will not.

In fact, the human race's path to seeking immortality started because of curiosity about the Heavenly Dao.

So, many people curious about this trading firm followed the road one after another, and when they saw the "Wulü Trading Firm" sign, they instantly fell into silence.

At first, there were no cultivators in Fengzhou, but later there was suddenly one.

Subsequently, there was the Mountain Asking, Autumn Battle, Heavenly Dao Assembly; after experiencing all kinds of things, many people began to know of his existence.

His surname is Ji, given name You, courtesy name Wulü.

Of course, there are also rumors saying his courtesy name is Bochang.

At this time, the manager of the Wulü Trading Firm gathered his courage to ask them if they needed grain, so everyone had an extra bag of grain in their hands.

This scene made the Zilang Prefect and his son feel a burst of fear.

Subsequently, the crowd returned to the Prefect's mansion; whether they bought grain or didn't buy grain, they all fell into silence.

Many things happened in the Dongping Mountain Range, many of which were unexpected to them, such as the appearance of the Barbarian race and Bu Qirong being killed.

And what was most unforgettable was the things that happened to Ji You.

It was just that they had been searching the mountains for the past few days, plus various scattered investigations, so there wasn't much time for communication.

Until this moment, because they saw that trading firm from Fengzhou, they made people start to ponder everything that happened on Dongping Mountain.

Ji You, who was rumored to be stuck in a bottleneck and would stop at the Profound Understanding Realm in this life, suddenly appeared on Dongping Mountain, then drew his sword to kill the Evil Seed of the Responding to Heaven Realm, and also defeated an Elder of the Boundless Realm from his own sect.

This was already enough to make people speechless, to the extent that many people still find it hard to accept even now.

And what made people even more speechless was another matter regarding Ji You...

Bu Qirong was someone the major Immortal Sects had issued a death order to capture alive, but he was watched as he was killed by Ji You.

They clearly felt that those Elders were already furious at the time, wishing they could grind Ji You to dust, but before they could make a move, those people were blocked by the Spirit Sword Mountain little Inspector with the power of a Sacred Artifact.

As the only one among the Seven Great Immortal Sects to wield a Sacred Artifact, the little Inspector, famous for her coldness, specifically made a move for him; this matter actually already made people feel astonished at the time.

And what made people feel even more puzzled was the reaction of those Elders.

The little Inspector already had the status of Abbot, and her right to speak was naturally above all living beings.

But the Qingyun world has always followed the rules; even an Abbot cannot publicly and casually interfere in the affairs of other sects.

If Ji You were a Spirit Sword Mountain disciple, then even if he slaughtered a noble family, with the Spirit Sword Mountain little Inspector coming forward, others wouldn't dare to do anything to him, but the problem is that Ji You is a Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciple.

But inexplicably, those Elders all suppressed their resentment.

In other words, those Elders all believed that the Spirit Sword Mountain little Inspector had a legitimate reason to manage Ji You's affairs.

Later, Ji You fainted on the mountain and was taken away by the Spirit Sword Mountain little Inspector, and the people of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan had no opinion, as if he should have been taken away by the Spirit Sword Mountain little Inspector.

They were very far away at the time and didn't hear Kuangcheng Yan Shuyi's words about "family affairs," but they all had their own considerations in their hearts.

Some people felt that Ji You was a secret agent of Spirit Sword Mountain.

But others felt that Kuangcheng Yan Shuyi had taken a fancy to Ji You and wanted to poach him to Spirit Sword Mountain.

Of course, there were some bolder ideas that seemed the most reasonable, but once they appeared in their minds, they would make them feel unbelievable.

Only Jiang Yan was silent with a slightly stunned look in her eyes, but in her heart, she had already confirmed an answer: "Those two women who were serving by Ji You's side at the time were your little Inspector's personal maids, right?"

Yan Qiubai, who was sitting next to her, parted her vermilion lips: "Sister remembers it now?"

"When the Spirit Sword Mountain carriage came to the Sages' Garden at the time, I was only focused on looking at the little Inspector and really didn't see their appearance clearly, but I think even if I saw it clearly, I probably wouldn't dare to believe it."

"I also looked for a long time before I was sure I hadn't seen it wrong." The image of Ji You holding a sharp sword appeared in Jiang Yan's mind, and her eyelashes couldn't help but tremble slightly.

After escaping death in the valley east of Falling Eagle Gorge, she had asked Yan Qiubai, saying that if Yan Qiubai didn't want to recruit Ji You as a son-in-law, she would go.

Actually, she was telling the truth; the previous Ji You was only in the Profound Understanding Realm, not enough to make her truly moved to the point of actively recruiting him.

Even if his combat power vaguely surpassed Profound Understanding, his background as a wild private cultivator was still criticized.

But that time in the valley, the combat power Ji You displayed directly exceeded her imagination, making her feel there was no need to hesitate.

She knew about Ji You and Yuan Caiwei, knowing that wanting to be the main wife was very difficult, but recently she heard that the Pill Sect was in contact with the Mountain Sea Pavilion, intending to marry their daughter to the Mountain Sea Pavilion's direct disciple.

This made Jiang Yan feel that there were fewer competitors, and her opportunity was still not small.

But she never expected that even Yuan Caiwei might not be able to be the main wife, because the Spirit Sword Mountain little Inspector was also Ji You's Dao companion.

However, Jiang Yan didn't blame Yan Qiubai for not telling the truth.

Because even she, a Seeking Dao Sect disciple, didn't dare to easily discuss this matter, let alone Yan Qiubai, this Spirit Sword Mountain disciple...

"I always thought the Spirit Sword Mountain little Inspector was cold and peerless, like a true goddess descending to the mortal world; now it's different. I remember that during the Heavenly Dao Assembly, the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan and Spirit Sword Mountain seemed to be arranged in the same courtyard?"

"Sister Yan, before this matter is personally admitted, it's better not to guess wildly..."

The two were silent together, but Yan Qiubai knew what Jiang Yan was going to say.

If they were truly Dao companions, then the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan being arranged in the same courtyard at the time might not have been a coincidence; it was their own Inspector wanting to stick to her husband.

But recalling the cold and arrogant image of the Inspector in her mind, she felt it didn't match at all...

After the cold dew, the temperature plummeted, and the chill was deep.

The commoners were still living a poor and stable life, preparing for winter after paying their taxes and tributes, while the disciples of various sects returned to their sects one after another with all the information about the Bu family.

At the same time, people from the academy also returned one after another.

First to return to Nishan were Qin Rong and Ji Jingyao's batch; they went to search for the Barbarian race, but unfortunately their strength was truly inferior, so they had to hand it over to the Northern Garrison Army to take over.

And returning subsequently was the batch led by Elder Fang and Elder Ge who continued to search for clues about the Bu family.

The news of their return to the mountain spread early to the inner and outer courtyards, so as soon as the convoy entered the city, a large number of disciples from the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan's inner and outer courtyards came to welcome them.

But in fact, a large part of them wanted to take this opportunity to inquire whether a natural spiritual treasure had really appeared in the Dongping Mountain Range as everyone said.

Coincidentally, a horse cart from Anyuan City also arrived here, crushing a puddle of water gathered by the cold autumn rain.

Although it was in the same direction as Elder Fang's party, that horse cart appeared exceptionally lonely.

And the other horse carts seemed to deliberately keep their distance from it, leaning to the left side.

At first, the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciples standing at the door thought this cart wasn't with Elder Fang's party, but didn't expect them to stop together at the gate of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan.

First to get off was Elder Fang; his face was pale and his steps were floating, making everyone in front of the door instantly realize he was injured, and they couldn't help but widen their eyes.

People in the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan all knew that Elder Fang was a Boundless Realm powerhouse, and couldn't help but start discussing what kind of sacred being could injure him.

While discussing, the horse cart that returned alone also lifted its curtain, and then Ji You jumped off the cart, attracting everyone's gaze.

The disciples who returned to the academy with Elder Fang naturally knew what had happened; seeing Ji You again at this time, their expressions were inevitably somewhat complex.

And on the stone steps, Elder Fang looked over with a venomous gaze, fury surging in his eyes, while also carrying a concealed fear.

On that day in the dense forest, he was slashed by Ji You, breaking the methods he had added to his body, and suffered a backlash, while Ji You's waist and abdomen were also pierced through by his own Qi.

But he knew in his heart that if he tried his best, he could definitely cripple Ji You, but Ji You could take his old life.

Ji You was also looking at him with cold eyes at this time, his gaze filled with provocation.

This wasn't because he was floating after testing his combat power; it was mainly because Elder Fang's money bag was truly too fragrant...

So fragrant that even if they fought another round, it might not be impossible.

However, those disciples who remained at the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan didn't know the truth, and felt puzzled after seeing this scene.

"Did Ji You really get taken to the Dongping Mountain Range?"

"Definitely."

"Didn't expect him to return safely; I just don't know how many times he can be this lucky..."

"But does everyone feel it's strange, why didn't they return together?"

"Did he offend Elder Fang? I just saw Elder Fang's gaze, it looked like he wanted to mince him into ten thousand pieces."

"This Ji You was already an eyesore in the Elder Pavilion; how did he offend Elder Fang again? He hasn't even broken through the Merging with the Dao Realm yet; how is he going to live his days after this?"

"This person, he was originally like this..."

When the Bu family matter caused the Immortal Sects to swarm in, the days in Nishan were relatively stable.

Some people were in seclusion charging a realm, while others were eating, drinking, and having fun, mixing in various social places.

However, because the matter of a natural spiritual treasure appearing in the Dongping Mountain Range was spread with nose and eyes, many people were secretly paying attention.

So when Elder Fang's party returned, many people were also watching from the side.

At this time, Fang Jincheng stepped to the side of Princess Changle, Zhao Yunyue: "Apologies, my great-grandfather has been traveling hard this time, and I'm afraid his mood is not good; I will report the matter of the Immortal Appreciation Assembly to you later."

"No matter, my Chong Prince Mansion's affairs are small matters after all; naturally, it depends on Elder Fang's time. Neither my father nor I are in a hurry."

The growth of the Immortal Supervision Bureau made the pro-immortal faction have a hard time, and the pressure in the imperial court was also quite great.

Also because the control over taxes and tributes was no longer there, plus the spirit stone trading firm he cooperated with was also constantly reducing production, it led to the connection between him and the Immortal Sect becoming increasingly thin.

So Prince Chong racked his brains, collecting many good things like elixirs, magic tools, and weapons, intending to invite some immortals over to hold a banquet.

And the purpose was still to pressure that Emperor nephew, hoping to take back the control of taxes and tributes from the Immortal Supervision Bureau.

But for this kind of banquet, if the status of those present was not enough, then it would have no meaning at all, so Zhao Yunyue set her sights on Elder Fang.

On one hand, it was because her friendship with Fang Jincheng was quite good, and on the other hand, it was because she heard that Elder Fang loved tea sets very much.

It just so happened that Prince Chong had collected a set of tea utensils that had been nourished in spiritual light for decades, which could be considered catering to his preferences.

But seeing Elder Fang's furious appearance, Zhao Yunyue also felt that it was not appropriate to mention this matter at this time.

So she turned her head and looked at Ji You in front of the door.

The feud between Elder Fang and Ji You originated from Fang Jincheng and Lu Hanyan, and subsequently reached its peak at the Heavenly Dao Assembly preliminaries.

But in her view, Elder Fang was, after all, a powerful figure among the Elders of an Immortal Sect; being so publicly hostile to a disciple who was only in the Profound Understanding Realm was somewhat lowering his own status.

Just at this moment, the crowd heard a cold snort.

Elder Fang flicked his sleeves and left, stepping into the air with a gloomy face, disappearing into the ten thousand acres of forest sea with a roar.

However, what the crowd didn't expect was that Elder Ge, who followed, also stood still in front of Ji You just like Elder Fang.

Just when the crowd thought Ji You had offended two Elders in one breath, Elder Ge suddenly raised his hand, bowed slightly to Ji You, and performed a slow salute.

The watching disciples were instantly stunned, looking at Elder Ge's bent waist with widened eyes.

Because whether it was an Immortal Sect or a noble family, the status of an Elder was higher than that of an instructor, and even higher than that of a student.

According to the rules, there had always been only disciples saluting Elders, and there was absolutely no precedent for Elders saluting disciples.

At this time, Elder Ge slowly stood up.

When Bu Qirong led eight Evil Seeds to kill him, it was Ji You who drew his sword to save his life; although he knew Ji You's original intention wasn't to save him, gratitude was also necessary.

He originally wanted to give Ji You some silver, rather than bowing his head like this.

And the reason for changing his mind was because Ji You's combat power was too terrifying.

The most critical thing was that he only now knew that Ji You was not a wild private cultivator without a background at all.

If that background of his were to be spoken out, it is estimated that the entire Heavenly Tian Shuyuan would be shaken because of it.

So saluting under the eyes of so many people, Elder Ge indeed harbored a slight intention of currying favor.

In his view, an Elder bowing his head, such a face-giving matter, must be more sincere than silver.

Who knew that the next moment, Ji You just returned a slightly perfunctory, faint smile, then turned and walked away, ignoring him.

"Not even giving money, just doing some empty things."

"What's the use of bowing to me...?"

At the same time, the three Managers of the Management Tian Shuyuan, as well as the Hall Masters in the inner courtyard, were all looking toward his figure.

In their gaze, they saw the white-clothed swordsman who had disappeared for a long time, giving them a feeling of a fierce tiger returning to the mountain at this moment.

They knew about Ji You killing the Bu family members; some agreed and some opposed, but in fact, the Immortal Sects, including the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, were still secretly investigating along the way, not taking Bu Qirong's death as the ending at all.

(End of chapter)