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Under the blazing sunlight,
Jiang Ding stood still for over thirty minutes, holding the Talisman Sword in his hand which gathered the sunlight, extremely dazzling, as if he were holding a sun.
After a long while, he opened his slightly fatigued eyes.
"It’s done, luckily the damage isn’t severe this time."
That was also the drawback of the Talisman Sword, too fragile.
Unless it’s tempered to perfection and reaches the next realm, the level of a wooden sword, only then would it be much better, not sustaining damage from violent physical collisions.
With a light step, he leapt to the treetops, hurrying back to the camp.
In Donglingshan Mountain, ferocious beasts were everywhere, so everything would soon be gone, preventing any plague from breaking out.
As for scavenging the spoils of war, it was unnecessary.
…
In the camp, herb gatherers and Jianghu folks frequently came and went, turning in Blue Luminous Butterflies.
Jiang Ding had been absent for quite a while, and the atmosphere among the Sihai Trading Company’s high ranks at the center of the camp finally relaxed a bit.
Although that person wouldn’t kill the innocent indiscriminately, it was inevitable to feel tense, fearing that something wasn’t handled well enough.
"Elder..."
An Internal Qi Realm steward’s eyes flickered, "People from the city residence have come; perhaps Young Master Jiang has fled? Our commands are in conflict with those of the Marquis’s Mansion, there may be trouble."
Although no rumors had leaked out, these stewards dealt with numerous matters every day and had long since speculated.
"Do your job!"
Long Zhengwu opened his eyes and swept him with a cold glance.
The depth of the Marquis’s Mansion’s infiltration into the Donglingshan branch was more than he expected; it hadn’t been long since his departure, and already there were those who wanted to defect.
"…Yes!"
The steward retreated with barely concealed resentment.
A gust of wind blew past, and at some point, a youth in blue clothes had appeared in the main seat, a longsword placed across his knees, resting with his eyes closed, the faint smell of blood occasionally noticeable, which quickly disappeared, making one wonder if it was just an illusion.
Cold sweat appeared on the forehead of the retreating steward.
Had the other party heard what he said just now?
"Young Master, where did you go just now..."
Long Zhengwu’s reaction was even greater, he shuddered, unable to stop trembling.
The Zhendong Marquis was clearly aware of the annihilation of Fierce Tiger Village.
Since he dared to come again, he surely had full confidence; perhaps even Chen Chen would personally lead the main troops here. And now the other party had returned safely, without running away...
The more he thought, the more his heart shook, but he dared not believe it.
"When can the Blue Luminous Butterflies be captured completely?"
Jiang Ding didn’t respond, but asked instead.
"After you offered the reward, the brothers have been working to the bone, day and night. They will collect them all within five hours at most," Long Zhengwu answered subconsciously.
"That’s good. Don’t rush, pay more attention to safety. Even later would be fine."
Jiang Ding closed his eyes again, using his Inner Energy to nurture the twelve meridians and their smaller branches.
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Long Zhengwu confirmed something, bowed deeply, his attitude more humble than ever before.
…
Zhendonghou Mansion.
Tang Wang sat upright in the main hall, his mind somewhat restless.
He remembered several hours earlier, when a man in a black robe appeared before him silently, gazed at him for a long while, said a sentence, then left.
"Not bad."
Throughout the ordeal, he felt as if an invisible mountain suppressed him; he couldn’t even shout for the guards, nor could he move his eyeballs. It took a while to recover.
It was as if he faced a natural enemy, involuntarily trembling, unable to muster the will to resist.
He didn’t scold his guards but arranged for the housekeeper to receive the visitor with even higher respect than himself. The memory of that moment still left him feeling utterly powerless.
It was no wonder that the Wolf God Cult invested so much, undeterred by his vacillations.
Boom, boom!
An attendant led Chou Di inside.
"Sect Elder Chou, may I know the purpose of your visit?"
Tang Wang spoke courteously, no longer as haughty as before.
```
Chou Di bowed slightly as he saluted, "Marquis, I am here to convey the decree of the Royal Priest."
"Marquis Tang awaits the Royal Priest’s command!"
Tang Wang spoke humbly, "No matter what it is, as long as the mansion can manage it, we will do everything to satisfy the Royal Priest."
"First, the Royal Priest will only stay for one day, and the Marquis must prepare the materials for refining Xiantian’s Black Blood Pill as soon as possible, regardless of success or failure."
Chou Di spoke with a firm and steady rhythm.
"Rest assured, Royal Priest, all kinds of iron and gold, great medicines, and live medicines have been prepared," Tang Wang assured, "In at most two hours, as soon as I have the final live medicine in hand, we can begin refining."
"Second, the Royal Priest decrees that from top to bottom, everyone in the Qixuan School is prime live medicine." Chou Di said slowly.
Tang Wang was taken aback.
"Could it be a mistake, Royal Priest? Every member of the Qixuan School is of low potential, with the only slightly promising member being a daughter-in-law of the Tang family. Where else would you find live medicine?"
He said with a laugh:
"I ask Sect Elder Chou to reconsider, and the Marquis will surely reward you handsomely in the future."
Chou Di remained silent, simply watching him.
The smile on Tang Wang’s face faded, and he too did not give in, leaving the atmosphere to grow cold.
"I’ve heard people say"
After a long wait, Chou Di finally spoke, "Sects and gangs rise and fall, at most lasting mere decades, and even imperial dynasties span no more than three hundred years. Even the longest-standing leaders of the righteous path like Qingniugong and Prajna Temple, with their rise, peak, decline, and disappearance, lasted just three to four hundred years."
"It’s not that they were specifically targeted, but rather it’s due to the merciless nature of time; no organization can last forever."
"So, Marquis, why has the small Qixuan School, which hasn’t produced a single Xiantian Martial Artist since their Ancestor Master, managed to continue for a thousand years?"
Tang Wang’s face turned pale.
"Having too many paths to choose from is not always a good thing."
Chou Di bowed once more and turned to leave.
Tang Wang sat alone for a long time before a voice was heard.
"Issue the order: The Qixuan School has colluded with the court’s rebels, the entire school is to be imprisoned, and any resisters are to be executed without mercy!"
"Yes!"
The armored guards responded, followed by the sound of their orderly footsteps receding into the distance.
...
Large troops in heavy armor surged toward the Qixuan School, seizing anyone they encountered, and skewering any who resisted with multiple iron spears—turning them into bloody hawthorns.
Some older disciples of the Qixuan School, confident in their strong martial skills and the Jianghu’s natural distrust of authorities, tried to escape using their lightness skills.
"Fire!"
A commanding officer’s voice was cold.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Dozens of powerful bows fired in salvo, turning him into a pin-cushion midair.
Even if one managed to evade the arrows, it would be futile, for there were experts from the Yiqi Gang on the outskirts looking for any who slipped through. Any delay would be met with a large squad of armored guards converging upon them to execute the kill.
The vast majority of Qixuan School disciples knelt and surrendered, allowing the soldiers to bind them.
Dense troops in heavy armor swept through the mountain gate and finally gathered at the headmaster’s hall, which had only been repaired a month ago and still smelled of fresh lacquer.
"What now, Commander Wang?"
The only remaining master of the Internal Qi Realm in the Qixuan School after the last upheaval, ’Iron Eagle Sword’ Zhang Ziteng, looked exhausted as he watched the ever-gathering soldiers filled with intent to kill.
He had worked tirelessly for the Sect, without regard for honor or disgrace, only to find it all in vain in the end.
"Where is Gong Caiyu?"
Seeing Zhang Ziteng alone, Commander Wang’s expression changed drastically, and he commanded harshly, "Search! Don’t leave a single tile or a piece of rag unturned!"
Zhang Ziteng’s expression was wooden, letting them enter and violently hack and search at will.
"Not here!"
"Not here!"
"We’ve found a tunnel entrance, Commander!"
Commander Wang’s face turned extremely ugly as he grabbed Zhang Ziteng by the collar, "Where has Gong Caiyu fled to? Who leaked the information in advance?"
"Talk! Or I’ll kill your entire family!"
"Heh, my whole family has long died at the hands of Wei Xian."
Zhang Ziteng sighed and smiled, "How can the Zhendong Marquis, a mud-legged family of only three hundred years, compare with my thousand-year-old Qixuan School? If it weren’t for enemies from outside the state, how could the Qixuan School have fallen to such a state?"
The Mansion.
When the news of Chen Chen’s total defeat, his own death along with the death of Zheng Ye, a relative by marriage, and the disappearance of Gong Caiyu from the Qixuan School, with the pursuit being fruitless, came, many precious porcelains in the mansion along with servants who had been employed for many years vanished without a trace.
