Chapter 49: Qiling Town Amidst the Sha Qi

The news that the Little Sword Master of Spirit Sword Mountain was heading to the Chen Clan to inquire about the mountain had become a major event for Qingyun, and in the blink of an eye, it had spread in all directions.

Naturally, there were those who would ponder the intricacies of this situation.

Especially the Asking Dao Sect; their direct disciple had gone to offer congratulations publicly but failed to see the person, only for that person to appear at the Chen Clan in the blink of an eye, which made their situation appear somewhat awkward.

Meanwhile, aboard a massive flying sword heading toward Central Province, a group of Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciples sent to the ruins were also murmuring about this matter.

Only Seeing Ji You, sitting at the front of the sword, was tempering his spiritual sense and did not join in.

"Brother Ji, do you know of the Little Xiao Jianzhu of Spirit Sword Mountain?"

"It is said that she is a peerless beauty with astonishing cultivation talent, and has already been confirmed as the next Sect Leader of Spirit Sword Mountain."

Bai Bai Rulong sat at the tail end of the flying sword, unable to resist looking at Seeing Ji You, who carried seven long swords on his back.

As the eldest son of the Bai family, he seemed to have had his fortune stolen by his younger brother. After refusing the elixir sent from home, he had been placed on the list for exploring the ruins, though it was unclear if this was because he was out of favor with the family or for some other reason.

However, he clearly had no chance of obtaining a spot in the Inner Court, and being able to come out for a change of scenery was not something he resisted much.

As for the dangers he might encounter...

It didn't matter; he would just keep Brother Ji protected in front of him.

Seeing Ji You opened his eyes slightly at this moment. Hearing him ask if he had heard of Yan Yan Shuyi, he shook his head calmly, though he couldn't help but rub the green jade gourd at his waist.

He didn't know how formidable the Little Xiao Jianzhu of Spirit Sword Mountain was; he only knew she loved to kick people, and her feet were quite fair and tender.

At the same time, the surrounding disciples couldn't help but turn their heads to look, and the topic of their whispers shifted to Chu He and Du Zhu.

When they set off on this trip, they had seen Chu He and Du Zhu standing side by side before the mountain gate, smiling enigmatically.

Standing behind them were all scions of prominent aristocratic families.

And that original sole candidate for the Inner Court had now been kicked out of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, his future as uncertain as those of them from fallen aristocratic families.

In everyone's view, even if they could return safely, Seeing Ji You had already lost the chance to enter the Inner Court.

Just as this discussion was taking place, Ban Ban Yangshu, who was sitting in front, suddenly stood up.

Having made no progress in the Inner Court for many years, he naturally became one of those on the list.

At this moment, his expression was solemn as he looked continuously down below the flying sword.

The group of Outer Court disciples behind him followed suit and looked down, and even Seeing Ji You couldn't help but look over, his expression instantly beginning to turn solemn.

The Qiling Mountain Range was located in the southeast of Central Province. Because of the ruins and the Evil Seeds, no towns had initially been established there.

But as the Hongshan Mine nearby was excavated, towns established by miners began to appear, guarded by Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciples, along with some collateral branches of aristocratic families.

The ancient ruins were filled with Sha Qi, but it was basically only coiled around the Qiling Mountains.

Yet at this moment, the Sha Qi from the ancient ruins had already spread throughout the mountain forests, and even the previously established landing point had become a gray blur in their line of sight.

Ban Ban Yangshu did not dare to rashly order the flying sword to descend, but instead took out a communication tablet to contact the first batch of Inner Court disciples who had arrived.

"Ding Shijie Wen, where are you all now?"

"Ban Ban Yangshu?"

"It is me."

"We are in the small town; you all should just land at the originally scheduled location."

As the communication immortal light dissipated, Ban Ban Yangshu directed the disciples who were piloting the flying sword with spiritual energy to land.

And as the flying sword drew closer and closer to the ground, a silent town appeared before everyone's eyes, and looking up again at this moment, the sky was a dim gloom.

A group of more than ten people landed from the flying sword and stepped into the town, only to see a group of ragged women and children kneeling on the ground, kowtowing incessantly to the passing cultivators, wailing continuously in the local dialect.

Next to Qiling was the Hongshan Mine; as the Evil Seeds surged out from the mountains, the entire mining area had been surrounded.

Their men were trapped inside, but they were powerless to do anything, so they could only take out all their worldly possessions and place the silver they had exchanged for on the road, praying for the immortals to intervene.

Seeing Ji You looked at the silver in front of them for a long time, unable to look away.

However, very quickly, the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciples who had arrived a step earlier appeared at the entrance of the small town, coming to meet them, each of their expressions extremely solemn.

Walking at the very front was the Inner Court female disciple Wen Zhengxin, who was also the leader of this operation.

Although she had entered the academy later than Ban Ban Yangshu, her cultivation talent was extremely fast, and she had already entered the Realm of Merging with the Dao. She had originally been a candidate for the direct disciple of the Freedom Hall, but ultimately had no choice but to be defeated and sent here.

"Ding Shijie Wen, what has happened here?"

"Try circulating your spiritual energy."

Ban Ban Yangshu was slightly startled, then circulated his spiritual energy, only to find his internal spiritual essence trembling wildly, while the efficiency of absorbing spiritual energy was extremely slow, which shocked him greatly.

Wen Zhengxin looked at him: "The Sha Qi here suppresses the circulation of spiritual essence."

Hearing this, the disciples behind Ban Ban Yangshu immediately began to discuss it in hushed tones.

Suppressing spiritual essence? Seeing Ji You looked around, slightly stunned, his expression gradually becoming thoughtful.

Just at this moment, Wen Zhengxin spoke again: "It is not as simple as just the Sha Qi suppressing spiritual essence; it is also very difficult to achieve Heaven-Human Resonance here."

The so-called Heaven-Human Resonance was the academic term for spiritual sense flying through the sky.

To put it another way, while within the range of the baleful Qi, cultivators find it very difficult to sense the Heavenly Dao, and thus cultivation becomes exceptionally arduous.

After Ban Ban Yangshu tried, he only felt dizzy and his complexion turned even uglier: "The disciples from the Management Court came to investigate three times previously; why was this point never mentioned?"

"What do you think?"

Hearing this, the disciples who had just arrived here gradually turned pale.

Everyone in the Qingyun world knows that the Immortal Sects are the most heartless, but they never expected them to be heartless to this extent.

Investigating the matter of the evil seeds amidst baleful Qi that can suppress spiritual energy is simply courting death.

Wen Zhengxin looked at them and finally spoke again: "You don't need to worry too much; we are only going into the mountains tomorrow to scout the path, so there won't be any danger."

"What exactly is in the mountains?"

"You'll know once you go in."

Hearing this, everyone turned their heads to look at the Qiling Mountain range in the distance, which seemed to stretch endlessly and press down upon them; a chill surged within them involuntarily.

Even from such a great distance, the baleful Qi is already this heavy; it's hard to imagine what it will be like once they actually enter the mountains.

At this moment, everyone's hearts were filled with resistance.

They came to the Immortal Sect to study under a master, paid their tribute, and the transaction was settled; why should they come to a place like this to risk their lives?

Yet even so, no one dared to say a word about not going and then flick their sleeves and leave.

Because they are not alone; what they represent behind them is the relationship between their own family heritage and the Immortal Sect that governs this world.

Seeing Ji You turned his head back and pointed in the direction of the Hongshan Mine: "Don't those evil seeds that are surging out of the mountains need to be dealt with?"

"Just bypass them when entering the mountains; there is no need to deal with them."

After Wen Zhengxin finished speaking, he turned around and led everyone toward the post station where they would be staying.

And Seeing Ji You suddenly realized that he had actually misunderstood this trip.

The Immortal Sect doesn't care at all about how many evil seeds have surged out or how many living people are trapped; they only care about who is manipulating the evil seeds, or rather, what secrets are in the mountains.

As for those that surged out, whether they eat people, where they will run to, or whether the trapped people will die, none of it is of any importance.

Seeing Ji You turned his head to look at Ban Ban Yangshu at this moment: "Senior brother, you all go back to the post station first; I'm going out for a trip."

"Where are you going?"

"Going to the Hongshan Mine to take a look."

Ban Ban Yangshu frowned after hearing this: "The Hongshan Mine is right on the edge of the Qiling Mountain range, and there are already evil seeds constantly wandering there. You are only at the perfection of the Lower Three Realms; what are you going there for?"

Seeing Ji You pointed at the women and children kneeling on the ground: "They seem to be giving money."

Ban Ban Yangshu knew that Seeing Ji You was extremely fond of money, but after hearing this, he still found it hard to believe: "You're even earning this kind of money?"

"A bastard is someone who doesn't earn money when it's there."

Ban Ban Yangshu was stunned for a moment, then frowned: "Do you have any acquaintances trapped in the mine?"

Seeing Ji You pondered for a long while and weighed the sword in his hand: "There really is nothing that can be hidden from you, senior brother."

"You are from Fengzhou; who would you know in Zhongzhou?"

"I know the father of the young child, the husband of the wife, and the son of the old man."

Seeing Ji You grinned, shouldered his sword, and walked toward the direction of the Hongshan Mine.

After coming out of Yuyang County, he entered the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan and discussed with Xiang Xiang Kuangcheng that one wanted to hold power over the imperial court, and the other wanted to be the Abbot of the Holy Sect, and then make this world a better place.

But the position of Abbot was too far away from him; he didn't even know if he could survive long enough to reach it.

Sure enough, he was sent to be cannon fodder.

Seeing Ji You didn't know what was in the mountains, and that wasn't something he, at the perfection of the Lower Three Realms, could get involved in, but even if he were to be cannon fodder, he could choose who to be cannon fodder for.

He had once studied a lesson in the past, which said that after the waves receded, many stranded small fish were left on the beach, struggling in puddles of water while waiting for death.

Then there was a little boy who kept picking them up and throwing them back into the sea.

A passerby saw this and laughed, saying that you can't save all the fish, so who would care?

The boy said, this one cares, this one cares, and this one cares too...

(End of chapter)