Chapter 263: A Hidden Dragon Returns to the Sea, a Swallow to its Nest

This was a battle intent.

The illusion flashed and disappeared, the five hundred low third-grade spirit stones depleted.

At the side, Xing rubbed his nose and said nothing. Faced with Lan Yan’s indignant gaze, he gave an embarrassed laugh.

After seeing the image of the Netherworld Demon Abyss, Qin Haoxuan felt a solemn respect for the cultivators who had lost their lives there. Regardless of whether they had fought to the death with the demons to protect their own sect or their families, they had, in the end, sacrificed their lives for the peace and tranquility of the cultivation world and the secular world.

After his laugh, Xing changed the subject and said to Qin Haoxuan, “When you were in class before, you were always sleeping, and your status in the sect is too low, your strength too weak, so you’re not yet qualified to know these things! I’ve read other people’s notes before and I know that it’s probably your sect’s elders looking out for you, wanting you to cultivate happily and without worry, not wanting to put too much pressure on you too early. And the cultivators your Taichu Sect sends out to fight in the Netherworld Demon Abyss are either those who have rendered great merit or those who have committed great crimes. It’s very difficult for it to be your turn.”

Qin Haoxuan frowned and couldn’t help but ask, “Why is that? To send those who have committed great crimes to atone for their sins, or simply to send them to their deaths, I can understand. But why would people who have rendered great merit also have to go and fight the demons of the Netherworld?”

As for why the higher-ups of the Taichu Sect would send out disciples who had rendered great merit to the Netherworld Demon Abyss, Xing naturally couldn’t answer. He said with indignation, “Damn, I’m not the Sect Master or an elder of your Taichu Sect. How would I know this?”

Qin Haoxuan thought that made sense. He digested the shocking news he had just learned and then said, “Never mind all that. The most important thing for us now is to hurry back and report this news to the sect.”

Xing and Lan Yan, of course, had no objections. Following the previous method, Qin Haoxuan wore the soft armor that Xing had transformed into, carried Lan Yan on his back, and then activated the Thousand-Mile Talisman to return to the sect. The entire journey only took half a day.

The battle at Seven Zhang Abyss was still ongoing. Although it was a battle dominated by cultivators, with nearly a million mortals participating on both sides, its tragic intensity, when compared to the Netherworld Demon Abyss, was simply child’s play.

Qin Haoxuan, who had seen the image of the Netherworld Demon Abyss, was even less interested in this battle. At most, this was just internal strife. If they could put these cultivators in the Netherworld Demon Abyss, then their deaths would be more meaningful.

Thinking of the many cultivators who had died in the Netherworld Demon Abyss to protect the cultivation world and the mortals, and yet these rogue cultivators were inciting a mortal king to rebel and going against the Taichu Sect, attracting their attention, all just to open a two-way passage to the Netherworld to achieve their goals. If a second Netherworld Demon Abyss were to truly form, he could hide within the great mountain array of the Taichu Sect and be safe for a short time, but his parents were mortals; they would not be allowed to take refuge within it. Once these demons came to his world through the spatial passage, they would not only eat cultivators but even mortals. Wouldn’t his parents be in danger then?

No, I must stop it.

Hadn’t the Taichu Sect been investigating the purpose of them starting this war? In the past, when rogue cultivators encountered the Taichu Sect, they would scatter like birds and beasts. But this time, they were fighting here, one after another, even knowing that doing so might attract the intervention of the sect’s higher-ups, at which point it would be impossible to escape. Yet they were still lingering here…

After all this time, their goal was to attract the attention of the Taichu Sect. He had to report his discovery to the sect at once and stop this conspiracy from being realized.

Returning to the main camp of the Taichu Sect, many disciples, upon seeing him from a distance, began to crane their necks, whisper to each other, and discuss in low voices. However, they only discussed from a distance. The terrifying combat strength he had displayed these past few months had made them feel an inexplicable fear towards this new disciple whose realm was not high. Moreover, a fool could see that he was secretly competing with the Purple Seed, Li Jing. To go and talk to him at this time, wouldn’t that be violating Li Jing’s taboo? Although Qin Haoxuan was dazzling at the moment, he was, after all, just a colorless weak seed. Compared to an Unsurpassed Purple Seed, it was clear that Li Jing would be more successful.

“Qin Haoxuan is back so early. The top spot on the points leaderboard is going to be interesting.”

“Li Jing has been killing for ten days already. He’s only just back now. I don’t think he can get first place no matter what.”

“Not necessarily, not necessarily! Qin Haoxuan and Li Jing, these two are more monstrous than the last. Their combat strength is even stronger than a senior brother at the twenty-plus-leaf realm.”

Qin Haoxuan was walking in a hurry and also heard snippets of their discussion, but he didn’t understand what a “points leaderboard” was and could only let it go. He figured it would be more reliable to ask his Senior Brother Ye Yiming later.

Seeing him return, Ye Yiming, who had been meditating cross-legged, also opened his eyes. A smile appeared on his face, and the trace of anxiety in his eyes also disappeared.

“You’re back. Is everything settled?” he asked kindly.

Feeling the concern in his words, Qin Haoxuan replied, “Everything is settled. The descendants of Senior Brother Pu have also been arranged for.”

After that, he told him a bit about what had happened with his senior brother’s descendants. After hearing it, Ye Yiming let out a long sigh. “The difference between an immortal and a mortal, the difference between an immortal and a mortal! Even Han Zhong, who was not conspicuous in the Taichu Sect, could have such a great influence among mortals. I hope his descendants will listen to your words and restrain themselves a bit. After all, he is no longer here.”

It had been half a year since Senior Brother Pu had passed away, but at the mention of him, Qin Haoxuan’s heart still darkened. He said, “As long as his descendants can turn over a new leaf and be a proper gentry family, I will still protect them and not let anyone bully them. But if they continue to do evil, I will have no choice but to clean up the family on his behalf, so as not to tarnish his name.”

A look of admiration appeared in Ye Yiming’s eyes, and in his eyes, Qin Haoxuan became even more perfect. In the dog-eat-dog world of cultivators, those like him, who were so full of emotion and loyalty, were a rare sight. There were many who would add flowers to a brocade, but those who would offer charcoal in a snowstorm were almost extinct. With his joining the Nature Hall, the future would surely be bright.

After the mention of Pu Hanzhong, the atmosphere in the tent became a bit strange. Ye Yiming suddenly remembered an important matter and said to him, “By the way, you left at a bad time. The day after you went home, we received instructions from the sect. Besides the reward of war merits for killing enemy rogue cultivators, they also added a war points reward.”

“A points reward?”

Ye Yiming nodded. “The acquisition of war points is the same as for war merits. The difference is that as long as you have one point, you can exchange it for a reward, but the war points are rewarded according to a ranking. The rewards for being in the top ten are all very generous. I heard that the first place on the war points leaderboard can get a reward of at least three hundred thousand low third-grade spirit stones.”

After he had finished, Qin Haoxuan finally knew why his senior brother had said he had left at a bad time.

Before, he and Li Jing had been secretly competing, and their war merits had been neck and neck. But this war points reward that had suddenly appeared after he had left had put him at a disadvantage. One could imagine that for the reward of three hundred thousand spirit stones for first place, Li Jing would surely fight even more desperately. Besides him, no one else could possibly surpass Li Jing in obtaining points. And in order to get first place, he would surely try to widen the gap as much as possible before he returned. Even if he did come back, to take first place again would require a much greater price and effort.

Qin Haoxuan frowned. “The reward of war merits is already generous enough. Why would they add a war points ranking reward at this time?”

If it had been before, he might have thought it was a way for the sect to stimulate the disciples to continue fighting. After all, they had been fighting for so long, and everyone was tired. In such a situation, it was inevitable that they would slack off. But after seeing the spatial passage array diagram in the prefect’s secret room, he faintly felt that the matter was not so simple.

“Who cares if it’s simple or not? The right path is to hurry up and kill for more points and get the first-place reward. As for the rest, why should I think so much about it?” Qin Haoxuan patted his head and laughed at himself.

After chatting with his senior brother for a few more sentences, he went to the registration office, preparing to retrieve the rest of his spirit stones.

Although the registration office was a temporary tent, the elder in charge was a Spirit Tree Realm expert. In the past, he had always come here to exchange war merits, and there had always been quite a few people. But this time, only the elder was here. The elder’s surname was Yu.

After seeing him, Qin Haoxuan bowed. “Elder Yu, disciple Qin Haoxuan has returned to report.”

The elder, who was dressed in a light gray Daoist robe, slightly lifted his eyelids, which had been closed in meditation. He was slightly surprised that he had returned so early. He pointed to a meditation cushion at the side and said, “Sit.”

This was a treatment that others could not enjoy. In any case, he also had something to report to him, so he did not refuse and sat down.

The moment he sat down, he felt the difference. An ordinary cushion was at most a little soft, but this one had the effect of clearing the mind and calming the spirit. On the table in front of the elder was a small incense burner. The burner was exquisitely crafted and looked very valuable just by looking at it, and a faint, clear fragrance drifted from it. This fragrance, combined with the cushion, not only enhanced the effect of clearing the mind and calming the spirit, but when he slightly circulated his spiritual energy, he felt that it flowed more smoothly than usual. If he were to combine this with his Qi-Circulating Pill, his cultivation speed would be a cut above just eating the pill alone.

He was shocked. Was this the foundation of a Spirit Tree Realm elder? Just the incense burner he used and the cushion he sat on were so good. Even a Purple Seed disciple like Li Jing, who was highly valued by the sect, did not have such a good cultivation environment.

After he had sat down, an attendant boy served him tea.

Elder Yu sized him up deeply. He had heard of his name on Emperor Peak. At that time, he had also paid some attention to this colorless weak seed whose cultivation speed was not slow. At that time, he had thought that his Dao Heart was extremely stable. Although his talent was not high, if he continued like this, he might have a chance to cultivate to the extremely high realm of the Forty-Ninth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm.

The immortal path was long, and each leaf was a step on a ladder. Although the Forty-Ninth-Leaf was not as good as the Spirit Tree Realm, the vast majority of disciples could not reach this height in their entire lives. And the Spirit Tree Realm required one’s own talent to be excellent, plus a certain amount of fated encounters.

The Nature Hall had been in decline for so many years. Now that they had recruited a disciple like him, they finally saw a chance for prosperity. Although they certainly could not reach the level of the four great halls, which had Spirit Tree Realm experts, if they could produce an expert at the Forty-Ninth-Leaf, the Nature Hall would not be bullied by everyone as it was now.