Chapter 181: The Distinction Between Immortal and Mortal is Like Cloud and Mud

Qin Haoxuan expressed his thanks with his words, “Thank you, Senior Brother Li,” but in his heart, he was quite displeased. On the surface, Li Jing was being friendly, but from the occasional contempt that showed through in his words, it was clear that while he spoke beautifully, deep down he was arrogant and looked down on him. As for Zhang Yang’s schemes, that was another matter entirely. He wasn’t afraid of him; the real problem was how to deal with Master Chi Lian.

“If you have any trouble, Junior Brother Qin, just call for me. I’ll go and have a word with Elder Ximen,” Li Jing said, cupping his hands to Qin Haoxuan.

“Please, go ahead, Senior Brother Li,” Qin Haoxuan replied politely.

After Li Jing left, Xing sidled up to him and, in a low voice full of righteous indignation, said, “This Zhang Yang is plotting against you. He’s scheming to kidnap you to blackmail Xu Yu. As your sworn brother in life and death, I can’t just stand by and watch. I’ve decided to find a chance to eat him and eliminate this hidden danger for you. You can’t stop me.”

Qin Haoxuan smiled faintly. Did he not know Xing’s little thoughts? But if he really ate Zhang Yang, the Taichu Sect would certainly conduct a strict investigation. How would he deal with that? The last time with Zhang Kuang, if he hadn’t come back alive, it’s not certain they wouldn’t have found out what really happened.

Qin Haoxuan lowered his head and thought for a while. He then said to Xing, “We can’t follow the main group. I estimate that Master Chi Lian will make his move at night. Later, after we leave the sect’s territory, we must quietly slip away from the group. It will be more convenient to hide that way.”

Xing did not reply. At this moment, his mind was completely consumed with how to eat Zhang Yang without anyone knowing. After all, he was a special seed disciple and the captain of this large group, and the leading elder was Ximen Sheng, whose strength was in no way inferior to Master Chi Lian’s.

Before long, they saw a giant light barrier that stretched from the ground to the sky, enveloping half of the Great Islet Mountain range. This was the Taichu Sect’s great mountain array. Seeing it, Xing’s heart pounded with excitement. He was finally leaving this damned cultivator sect. For these past few days, he had been walking on thin ice.

When they reached it, Ximen Sheng walked to the front, spread his arms, and with a dance of his ten fingers, golden inscriptions flowed out and landed on the light barrier. Soon, a small opening, just large enough for a person and a horse to pass through, appeared. Zhang Yang orderly directed the new disciples through. After they had all passed, the light barrier flashed and returned to its original state.

They rode for about two hours and then stopped to rest in a wide meadow. “Entering the Mortal World” was no simple journey; there was no telling how long it would take, so the group, led by Ximen Sheng, was not in a hurry. Beside him, Prince Li Si was visibly anxious but did not dare to urge them on.

The group rode at a leisurely pace for two days. Although they were now far from the Great Islet Mountain range, they were still within the sect’s sphere of influence. For these two days, although Qin Haoxuan had been on edge, nothing dangerous had happened. Master Chi Lian still did not dare to act recklessly within the sect’s territory.

Nothing happened for two days, but Qin Haoxuan knew the danger was getting closer. On the morning of the third day, they rode into the rising sun and entered a place called Qingfeng County. It was eight hundred li from Emperor Peak. Although it was still the territory of the Soaring Dragon Nation, it was no longer under the direct influence of the Taichu Sect.

The moment they entered, it was obvious that the security here was far worse than in the counties they had passed through along the way. Although the Taichu Sect did not meddle in worldly affairs, under its watchful eye, no bandit, no matter how ferocious, dared to cause trouble. As a result, their journey had been extremely peaceful.

But the moment they set foot in Qingfeng County, they saw a group of bandits who had tied up a group of commoners and were marching them down the main road, beating and cursing them. Behind the captives, the bandits were pushing about ten large carts, filled with plundered grain and valuables.

When the group of bandits saw the youths on their tall horses, greedy looks appeared on their faces. These were all fine steeds, each one worth a considerable sum. As bandits who made their living by robbing travelers, how could they resist the sight of a group of young men on such fine horses?

One of the bandits let out an excited whoop and said to his leader, “Boss, these kids’ horses are not bad! If we snatch them, the strength of our Black Wind Mountain will greatly increase!”

“Nonsense, do you even need to ask? Of course we’re going for it!” another bandit interjected without hesitation, drawing his scimitar and leaping gracefully from his horse. Inspired by him, the other bandits dismounted in a coordinated movement, preparing to attack.

From their movements, it was clear that this group of bandits was quite skilled. Their leader was a black-faced man with a square head, a large face, and a full, curly beard. His face was covered in fierce-looking flesh. He rode a chestnut horse, a ghost-head saber on his back, and wore a tight-fitting black outfit that perfectly outlined his bulging muscles.

He raised his saber and shouted, “You people up ahead, listen up! Hand over your valuables, and your grandpa here will mercifully spare your lives. Otherwise, you’ll die without a complete corpse!” With a wave of his hand, the twenty-odd bandits fanned out to surround them.

At the very front, the Jade Bamboo Hall’s Deputy Hall Master, Ximen Sheng, looked at the group of bandits with an expression of utter contempt. He sneered and coolly spat out two words: “Mortals.”

Hearing his words, the bandits looked at each other, greatly surprised. Most people, upon seeing their ferocious group, would obediently hand over their belongings in exchange for their lives. Any who resisted had died under their blades.

The bandit leader was enraged by the contempt on Ximen Sheng’s face. He pointed his saber at a burly man with two plaster patches on his temples and roared, “Plaster, chop him up!”

“Alright!” the man called Plaster shouted in a resonant voice. He spurred his horse forward, brandishing his large saber with a sharp cry.

Ximen Sheng turned to a new disciple at the First-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm and said in a cool tone, “You go. Kill all of these people. Let them know what the difference is between an immortal and a mortal.”

This disciple, named Liang Xi, paled slightly. He had only just grown his first leaf a few days ago, and he was a weak seed, not valued by the sect. He thought to himself, I’ve only been cultivating for seven months. How can I be a match for these ferocious bandits? That man called Plaster, his temples are bulging; he clearly has powerful external martial arts training.

Although he was grumbling in his heart, how could he dare to defy the order of a Hall Master? Besides, even if he was no match for them, at least the Hall Master was here, right? He steeled himself, dismounted, and walked forward, his heart pounding with fear.

The bandits were astonished. They never expected their opponent to be such a wet-behind-the-ears youth. And that middle-aged leader had the audacity to tell him to kill all of them? Instantly, the bandits were furious. One of them shouted, “Brother Plaster, chop this kid in half with one blow!”

Another stared directly at Ximen Sheng and roared viciously, “That’s right! Chop this kid in half, and then give that skinny old man the death of a thousand cuts for his arrogant words!”

Spurred on by his brothers’ shouts, Plaster let out a roar and charged forward. Liang Xi was terrified by his ferocious momentum and immediately began to prepare a spiritual art, forming a hand seal and mobilizing the spiritual energy in his body. After a few breaths of preparation time, Plaster had reached him.

“Heaven-Cleaving Wind Art…”

Liang Xi spread his ten fingers, and the spiritual energy in front of him rapidly condensed, forming countless sharp wind blades. With a series of hissing sounds, the semi-transparent blades shot out, striking Plaster and his horse. In just a few moments, the burly man who had been so imposing, and who had been looked down upon by the weak-looking youth, was, along with his horse, turned into a pile of minced meat.

My heavens! How are they so weak? Seeing the ground covered in blood and flesh, Liang Xi himself was astonished. This Wind Blade Art was the most basic of spiritual arts. If used against another cultivator, it would at most leave them disheveled and slightly injured. He never thought it would be so powerful against a mortal, directly shredding the impressive-looking man to pieces.

The new disciples who had been worried for him were also shocked. It turned out that the unremarkable Wind Blade Art was actually this powerful.

The dumbfounded bandits stared with their mouths agape, their faces filled with an indescribable terror. “Sorcery! What kind of sorcery is this?” they cried out in fear. “It killed Brother Plaster in an instant! With his external training, a dozen ordinary men couldn’t even get close to him…”

“That kid looks to be no more than seventeen. How could he possibly be Brother Plaster’s opponent? He must be using sorcery…”

“Boss, what do we do? Should we run?”

The bandits looked at each other, fear in their eyes. Finally, their gazes focused on their leader. The leader’s face was grave. Being more experienced, he knew they had kicked an iron plate. With an opponent this strong, and with their superior horses, they certainly couldn’t escape. It was better to charge forward together; perhaps they could kill them.

So, the leader roared coldly, “Brothers, these people know evil arts! We’re no match for them one-on-one. Charge together and slaughter them!” With that, he spurred his horse forward, leading the charge, his hundred-plus-jin ghost-head saber whistling through the air. Inspired by him, the other bandits also let out strange cries and charged forward.

Liang Xi’s hands were trembling, but Hall Master Ximen Sheng still showed no intention of helping. He could only grit his teeth and face them. He had no time to cast another spiritual art. He took out a spiritual talisman from his robes and began to infuse it with energy. It was only the lowest-grade talisman, with the power of at most a Third-Leaf cultivator.

After he activated it, a large number of transparent wind blades appeared in front of him and, with a whoosh, shot out in a swarm, falling upon the charging bandits. In the blink of an eye, the bandits who had been roaring moments before were, without exception, turned into a mess of severed limbs and minced meat. Not a single complete corpse remained. The scene was utterly gruesome.