Chapter 207: The Immortals of Taichu Descend the Mountain

For a massive cultivation sect like the Taichu Sect, dispatching disciples for missions like this was typically handled by the Hall of Worldly Affairs; it rarely came to them. And opportunities for slaying demons and monsters were even rarer. After all, every disciple who had achieved some success in their cultivation hoped to test their results against such creatures. Almost every disciple in the Taichu Sect wanted such a training opportunity.

Compared to the other Hall Masters, Guyun of the Ancient Cloud Hall was a bit greedier. As long as one was willing to pay a satisfactory price, granting a few entry-exit tokens was no difficult matter for him.

“Alright, this is the only way,” the several senior brothers said, exchanging a look. They immediately dispersed to gather information.

After sending his junior brothers away, Chi Lian’s eldest disciple, Xi Mufan, headed towards the Hall of Worldly Affairs. He had a friend there who worked as a functionary. Although he wasn’t very confident, he wanted to try his luck.

And as luck would have it, just as he arrived at the entrance of the Hall of Worldly Affairs, he ran into his friend, who was rushing out with a hurried expression.

Xi Mufan quickly called out to him. “Senior Brother Wei, why are you in such a hurry?”

Seeing that it was his friend, Senior Brother Wei stopped his hurried pace and quickly explained, “So it’s you, Senior Brother Xi! I just received a message from Hall Master Ximen, who is leading this year’s new disciples in the ‘Entering the Mortal World’ trial. It’s not just one rogue cultivator on the side of the rebelling King of the Foothills; it’s very likely a group of them, possibly instigated by the ‘Tongtian Temple.’ I’m rushing to report this to the elders so they can make a quick decision.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is. Since it’s a major sect matter, I won’t delay you,” Xi Mufan said, his heart leaping with joy.

Senior Brother Wei also cupped his hands and quickly ducked into the Hall of Worldly Affairs to make his report.

A喜悦filled Xi Mufan’s heart. Just what I needed! I must seize this opportunity! He then thought for a moment and analyzed, Ximen Sheng is the Deputy Hall Master of the Summer Cloud Hall. For him to feel pressured enough to send a message back to the sect, it must be serious. And his team has an Unsurpassed Purple Seed. With three Unsurpassed Purple Seeds in this year’s trial, for their safety alone, the sect will treat this matter with great caution. They will surely send out training teams!

His analysis was correct. The moment the elders of the Hall of Worldly Affairs received the news, they immediately reported it to the Sect Master. After a brief analysis, Sect Master Huanglong immediately sounded the bell to summon the five Hall Masters to the Taichu Grand Hall for a discussion. Soon, with the exception of Xia Yunzi, who was attending the banquet in the Gufeng Kingdom with Murong Chao, the other four Hall Masters had arrived.

Huanglong sat high on his throne, his torch-like gaze sweeping over the four of them before he said in a deep voice, “The reason I have summoned you is that the three Purple Seed disciples may be in danger.”

The three Purple Seed disciples might be in danger? If it had been anyone else, Huanglong would have been happy for them to suffer some hardship. But the Purple Seeds were different; each one was a treasure of the Taichu Sect. The loss of a single one would be an unbearable blow.

The first to speak was the master of the Hundred Flowers Hall, Su Baihua. She frowned and asked, “Uncle-Master, please don’t keep us in suspense. What is the matter?”

“To put it simply, the rebelling King of the Soaring Dragon Nation is suspected of having the assistance of rogue cultivators, and not just one or two. It is highly likely that the rogue cultivator gang, the ‘Tongtian Temple,’ is behind it,” Huanglong explained. He glanced at the others. “I just received a request for aid from Deputy Hall Master Ximen Sheng of the Summer Cloud Hall. He has encountered many rogue cultivators. Although his team is very capable, there are far more of them than we knew. It seems that over these years… the rogue cultivators have grown quite a bit right under our noses…”

As the Deputy Hall Master, Ximen Sheng’s strength was not far from Xia Yunzi’s. For even an expert like him to not have complete confidence in victory showed that the rogue cultivators had indeed developed well over the years.

Ximen Sheng’s team was Qin Haoxuan’s team. Hearing that they were in trouble, even Xuanji of the Nature Hall grew anxious.

Sect Master Huanglong took in everyone’s expressions and said nonchalantly, “Our sect has not sent out a large number of training disciples for many years. With our long absence, we have lost our presence. These rogue cultivators have all gotten arrogant and are now bullying us right at our doorstep! Hmph! I have decided to take this opportunity to dispatch ten ten-man teams, scattered throughout the Soaring Dragon Nation, to wipe out the rogue cultivators mixed in with the rebel armies. If this matter is related to the Tongtian Temple, we will eradicate them as well!”

His voice was cold and inviolable, tinged with a hint of anger. It was normal for a great Sect Master from an orthodox sect like him to look down on other rogue cultivators, especially when these clown-like figures tried to climb over the head of the Taichu Sect. This had crossed his line.

Hearing his words, the other four Hall Masters trembled with excitement. Normally, when the sect sent out training disciples, even for powerful demons, they would at most send one ten-man team. The four great halls would fight tooth and nail for those ten precious spots. This time, the Sect Master, in a fit of rage, was sending out ten ten-man teams. Although that was a hundred spots in total, for the Taichu Sect with its massive number of disciples, it was still a case of too many monks and too little porridge.

Fighting rogue cultivators was a much easier and more profitable training mission than fighting demons and monsters. Although the disciples of the orthodox Taichu Sect looked down on them, it didn’t mean they didn’t bully them. These rogue cultivators were not strong; in their eyes, they were fat sheep. And since they had no powerful sect to back them, they would always carry all their worldly possessions with them. After killing one, you could make a handsome profit from their corpse.

Now, the rogue cultivators of the Soaring Dragon Nation, after many years of recuperation, really thought they could challenge the Taichu Sect. This excited many people in the sect. This was a rare opportunity to get rich.

When it came to taking advantage of an opportunity, Guyun was never one to be left behind. He immediately spoke up. “Sect Master, as the most powerful combat hall in the Taichu Sect, when faced with such a challenge to our sect’s prestige, the disciples of my Ancient Cloud Hall are willing to be the first to step forward. I ask for three ten-man team spots. I will immediately find the strongest and most promising disciples in my hall and have them sacrifice themselves for the sect!”

His righteous indignation drew a cold sneer from Su Baihua. “Hall Master Gu is truly proactive. Such rough and tiring work, our Hundred Flowers Hall can also do. Uncle-Master, please give me three spots. My disciples will absolutely not be outdone.” Bizhu, seeing them both state their cases, and fearing that they would snatch all the spots, quickly spoke up as well. “Uncle-Master, you know the strength of our Jade Bamboo Hall’s disciples. We will absolutely not bring shame upon the sect!”

Even the usually taciturn Xuanji of the Nature Hall said, “Sect Master, please also give some of these training spots to the disciples of the Nature Hall.”

With the exception of the absent Xia Yunzi, the other four halls had all made their positions clear. For such an obvious opportunity to gain benefits, any Hall Master would be moved.

Huanglong pondered for a moment. “I am very gratified by your proactiveness. Let it be so. The four great halls—Ancient Cloud, Jade Bamboo, Summer Cloud, and Hundred Flowers—will each get twenty-five training spots. The disciples must be at the Fifteenth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm or higher.”

Xuanji grew anxious. How could the Nature Hall be left out of such a matter? But besides Ye Yiming, none of his disciples had even reached the Tenth-Leaf. Even if he were given the spots, he had no one who met the requirements.

After speaking, Huanglong’s gaze fell on him. “As for the Nature Hall… you will have one spot. There will be no restriction on the disciple’s strength.”

“Thank you, Sect Master,” the four Hall Masters said, their faces filled with joy. At the same time, they cast a sympathetic look at Xuanji.

Xuanji’s old face flushed, but he said nothing. The Nature Hall had always been weak; it wasn’t the first time they had been given special consideration.

“Alright, if there is nothing else, you may all leave. Quickly select your disciples and have the Hall of Worldly Affairs coordinate their departure,” Huanglong said with a wave of his hand, being the first to leave.

The efficiency of the four great halls was quite high. They quickly finalized their lists and reported them to the Hall of Worldly Affairs. The Nature Hall also chose a disciple named Yu Xian, who was at the Eighth-Leaf. Of course, at Xi Mufan’s request, he also obtained three precious spots from Guyun. It wasn’t that he had so much face, but that Master Chi Lian’s lineage was a powerful one within the Ancient Cloud Hall.

…

Qin Haoxuan’s brow was furrowed as he worried about spirit stones. After these two days of consumption, he only had five thousand left. This made him afraid to even practice setting up the infusion array, as each attempt would cost dozens of stones. But if he didn’t practice, he wouldn’t be able to set it up quickly enough to detonate the Bifang Talisman Beast if he encountered Master Chi Lian.

What was a huge sum to an ordinary disciple of the Taichu Sect was simply not enough for Qin Haoxuan. The dangers he had to face were too many, and the places he needed to use spirit stones were also too many. And to make matters worse, Xing had said to him with great seriousness, “You’d better be prepared to run at any time. We’ve been in this army camp for so long; Master Chi Lian, having lost your trail, will surely have guessed the reason. At that point, if he starts checking off all the places that can mask the tracking art’s aura one by one, we’ll be in danger.”