Chapter 236: A Team Assembled to Hunt Rogue Cultivators

This was not only due to the Hundred Flowers Hall Master’s own fated encounters, but more importantly, her resilience as a woman… which had been a great help in her cultivation.

“Then, I must ask Junior Brother Li to explain it a little more clearly.” Qin Yang was very patient. He understood that after leaving the mountain, if he did not have a backer in the future, he might never be able to enter the Spirit Tree Realm in this lifetime. Although Li Jing was vicious, he was also an opportunity for his future cultivation to break through.

“Mm, this junior brother has a clumsy plan. Please listen and see if it is feasible, Senior Brother Qin,” Li Jing said. “Aren’t we intercepting and killing enemy rogue cultivators every day? I will find a way to group you, Junior Brother Qin, Senior Brother Qin Yang, and a trusted follower of mine into one team. The three of you will go out together to intercept and kill the enemy. At that time, the merits of the three of you will be credited to the two of you, thereby angering Qin Haoxuan. As long as he is angry, you, Senior Brother, can propose a duel with him, and the wager will be a Qi-Circulating Pill. Then you can openly teach him a lesson! After the matter is done, the pill will be mine, and I will have a separate, heavy reward for you.”

Anger Qin Haoxuan, challenge him to a duel, wager a Qi-Circulating Pill, and then the pill goes to Li Jing.

Qin Yang thought for a moment and quickly understood his intention. So, Li Jing was after Qin Haoxuan’s Qi-Circulating Pill and wanted to use him to win it. Although the pill was precious, the improvement to his own strength would be limited. If he won it and gave it to Li Jing, the favor of a Purple Seed disciple was much more valuable than a single pill. Qin Yang quickly calculated the benefits.

But… his evaluation of Li Jing in his heart had dropped quite a bit. To do such a thing for a single pill was somewhat unwise. It seemed… this Junior Brother Li still had a long way to go in terms of his character. But that was also good… If he were to calculate every step with precision, he probably wouldn’t get much benefit from him in the future. Only this much vision? Qin Yang thought. In the future, Li Jing might be swayed by my words, which is also a good thing.

“Rest assured, Junior Brother Li. Leave this matter to me,” Qin Yang’s smile was brilliant. “At any rate, I am also at the Twentieth-Leaf of cultivation. Dealing with a Qin Haoxuan is still something I can do.”

…

Here in the Soaring Dragon Nation’s army camp, a large-scale formation had been personally set up by Deputy Hall Master Ximen Sheng. Any cultivator who dared to break into it would be killed by its power. Therefore, although there were many rogue cultivators in the rebel army, none dared to charge into the camp, let alone the mortal soldiers.

As for the rebel camp, it was the same. A rogue cultivator who was extremely skilled in arrays had set up a similar large-scale formation. For an ordinary Taichu Sect disciple to charge in would be to court death. So, although the Taichu Sect had many disciples, it was not easy to attack. Of course, if an expert of Ximen Sheng’s level were to personally go and break the enemy’s formation, he would have a high chance of succeeding. But until now, these high-level experts of the Taichu Sect still showed no intention of breaking the formation and killing the enemy. Although the disciples were puzzled, they did not dare to ask rashly.

The elders’ instructions to the Taichu disciples were to intercept and kill the rogue cultivators who were patrolling outside the camp and those who were coming to reinforce them. Although these rogue cultivators were all in the rebel’s main camp, hiding in the formation, a steady stream of them arrived every day to help. In order to protect these reinforcements, the rogue cultivators in the formation would also organize small teams to kill the Taichu disciples who went out to intercept them.

With the strength of the rogue cultivators, they naturally did not dare to attack the formation set up by the Taichu Sect. And the elders of the Taichu Sect who had the strength to break their formation were all indifferent and did not go to do so. The two sides were thus in a stalemate.

Almost all the Taichu disciples did not understand why the elders who had the strength to break the formation had not made a move, allowing these clowns to continue to jump around.

For this reason, Qin Haoxuan was also full of doubts. He asked Xing, “Have you figured anything out?”

Xing rolled his eyes. “How would I know?”

As they were talking, Ye Yiming, who was at the side, had a smile on his face, a look of complete understanding. Both of their gazes shifted to him at the same time. Qin Haoxuan looked at him and said, “Senior Brother, do you know? If you do, then tell us.”

“Originally, with my strength and status, I would not be qualified to know. But when the five great halls held a meeting, each hall had to send one person to attend. Senior Brother Yu is rather dull, so he goes out to fight every day. Thus, I was the one who went to the meeting, so I know a little about the situation.”

Ye Yiming had Xing cast a barrier, and then he lowered his voice. “Our Taichu Sect, within the borders of the Soaring Dragon Nation, is a truly supreme existence. In the past, when those rogue cultivators met our disciples, they would all take a detour. Even if there was some dispute, and the rogue cultivators had the advantage, they would still exercise restraint when they fought. After all, Hall Master Gu’s rampage back then left an extremely deep impression on everyone. If the rogue cultivator’s side did not have an advantage, they wouldn’t even fight; they would just turn and run.”

Ye Yiming’s brow furrowed slightly. “But this time is rather strange. These rogue cultivators have formed a loose alliance and are actually supporting the king’s rebellion and going against our Taichu Sect, even when they have no advantage at all. Even knowing they can’t win, they’re still calling on their friends and continuing to fight. This situation is quite abnormal; there must be some other secret. So, the few elders stationed here held a meeting and decided to first see what tricks they are playing. If they wipe them all out in one go, they will have no way of knowing the secret behind it all. So, they’re letting them jump around for a few days.”

“In the elders’ words, this is also a good opportunity for the disciples to truly experience a life-or-death battle. Although this rogue cultivator organization is loose, there are still some good ones among them. It’s a good chance to temper our disciples,” he said with a light smile.

Qin Haoxuan had a sudden realization. “So that’s how it is!”

Ye Yiming said to him, “Alright, let’s hurry to the assembly hall. Li Jing has already sent someone to urge us twice. He definitely wants to send you out to intercept and kill rogue cultivators. This is a very dangerous mission; you must be careful.”

Qin Haoxuan nodded seriously. “I know my limits. Rest assured, Senior Brother.”

Ye Yiming nodded with a smile. “It’s good to use this opportunity to gain more experience. But you must remember, protecting your life is the first priority, and gaining merit is the second. You must not be greedy for quick success and advance rashly.”

His instructions moved Qin Haoxuan, and he nodded with great solemnity. He then turned his head to Xing. “Turn into a suit of soft armor. Protect my vital points.”

Xing did not waste any words and directly transformed into a suit of soft armor, covering his entire body and protecting his several important vital points. When the Taichu disciples went out to intercept and kill the enemy rogue cultivators, those rogue cultivators were not to be trifled with. Every time they went out on a mission, there would be casualties. Although Qin Haoxuan had many tricks up his sleeve, he was after all only at the Seventh-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm. If he were to encounter a Thirtieth-Leaf or even stronger rogue cultivator, he would not even have the strength to fight back. And many of them had life-saving ultimate moves and trump cards. Xing did not want to see him die at their hands.

Arriving at the assembly hall, a bustling crowd of nearly a hundred Taichu disciples had gathered. Seeing him arrive in a suit of soft armor, many of them even laughed. In a battle between cultivators, life and death were decided in an instant. Never mind this ordinary-looking soft armor; what use was even heavy steel armor? Because he had gotten the Qi-Circulating Pill from Xu Yu, he had always been the object of many disciples’ jealousy. They had already looked down on him for latching onto her thigh. Now, to see him so afraid of death, without a shred of masculinity, was even worse.

Mixed in the crowd were Qin Yang, as well as Li Jing’s trusted follower who had been pre-selected to be in his group to frame him, the Fifteenth-Leaf Liao Qiankun. They looked at him with cold eyes.

Liao Qiankun said softly, “Senior Brother Qin, this kid looks like a coward. Can we provoke him?”

“As far as I know, this Qin Haoxuan is still very tough. Provoking him shouldn’t be difficult. The reason he’s dressed like this is that he has self-awareness and doesn’t want to die too soon. After all, this isn’t the Taichu Sect; you can lose your life in a minute.” Qin Yang secretly sized him up. He had heard a lot about this kid’s past battle records. To dress like this was not cowardice, but caution.

Just as the disciples were discussing amongst themselves, Li Jing walked onto the main seat with a smile on his face, and the voices below immediately quieted down a great deal.

Qin Haoxuan looked at Ye Yiming with confusion. Ye Yiming explained, “The elders have divided our disciples into four interception teams. Each team has ten smaller squads, and each squad has three people. Disciples who have reached the Fifth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm must join a team, and they will be led by two stronger teammates to carry out interception missions. There are rewards based on the strength of the rogue cultivators you kill. Li Jing is the captain of the third team.”

Li Jing said to the nearly one hundred disciples below, “Fellow senior brothers, it is a new day, and today it is the turn of our third team to carry out the interception mission. Yesterday, the most outstanding of our new disciples, Junior Brother Qin Haoxuan, returned. Since he has now reached the Seventh-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm, and according to the rules, all disciples at the Fifth-Leaf and above must participate in the interception missions, Deputy Hall Master Ximen Sheng, after careful consideration, has decided to assign him to our third team.”

After speaking, he looked at Qin Haoxuan and said with a smile, “Junior Brother Qin, you are an outstanding figure among the new disciples of our generation. But the enemy’s rogue cultivators are also very formidable. Therefore, I have specially arranged two teammates for you: this Senior Brother Qin Yang, and Senior Brother Liao Qiankun. With them with you, as long as you are careful, you should not be in any danger.”

The moment his words fell, a wave of low discussion immediately broke out. “Yo! Senior Brother Li is really looking out for him, to actually assign the Twentieth-Leaf Senior Brother Qin Yang and the Fifteenth-Leaf Senior Brother Liao Qiankun to his team. As long as Qin Haoxuan doesn’t have a screw loose, he certainly won’t be in any danger.”

“Senior Brother Li is a truly good person. Following him will surely lead to a bright future.”

“Yes, to be an Unsurpassed Purple Seed and still be so kind and generous, I will follow him for the rest of my life.”

Li Jing’s words, spoken in front of everyone, immediately won him a great deal of favor. Everyone thought he was looking out for Qin Haoxuan and thinking of him at every turn. Only a few people knew what he was really up to.

Although Qin Haoxuan was surprised and didn’t know what he was planning, he thought, to show such diligence for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief.

Following Li Jing’s direction, he looked at his two new teammates. Qin Yang and Liao Qiankun were also looking at him. When their gazes met, he could feel a faint hostility from them. Based on his past experience of being framed by Li Jing, he almost instantly concluded that he was surely up to no good in assigning these two to him. They were probably sent to trip him up in secret. Intercepting and killing enemy rogue cultivators was a dangerous job. If one’s teammates intended to frame them, they would be in great danger.

After the arrangements were made, Li Jing distributed Heaven’s Eye Talismans to each team. After using one, they would be able to observe the cultivation realm of a Spirit Sprout Realm cultivator. With everything ready, the small teams set out.

Before they left, Ye Yiming instructed him, “Don’t be a hero when you’re out there. Fight the ones you can win against, and absolutely do not provoke the ones you can’t.”

Qin Haoxuan nodded solemnly. “Rest assured, Senior Brother. I know my limits.”

“Returning safely is more important than anything else,” Ye Yiming said, patting his shoulder.

Under the impatient gaze of Qin Yang, Qin Haoxuan left with the two of them.