She is Jianxiu

Chapter 1408, Part 40: The Test

A day later, Shen Tong composed himself, summoned his disciples and gave them some instructions, then released his escape light and headed towards a quiet place with secluded mountains and clear waters outside the city.

Zhao Chun invited six disciples of the Void Realm to meet him today. Perhaps fearing that they would feel awkward, he chose a location outside his own cave dwelling. Shen Tong came out of Qinlian Mountain and arrived at the place in less than a few breaths. As he landed, he saw Wang Long and the other two coming together. He stepped forward to greet them and said, "Brother Wang, you have arrived early today."

Wang Long stopped upon hearing this, glanced at him, his expression unreadable, and said in a flat tone, "Brother Shen is no less capable."

Shen Tong smiled, not minding the other party's aloof attitude. He picked up the conversation and said, "How could I dare not come when Sword Lord invites me? It's just that I have been living on Qinlian Mountain for a long time and do not know the purpose of Sword Lord's visit. Now that you have specially invited us, it makes me feel uneasy."

He smiled warmly and subtly sized up the people in front of him. Seeing that Wang Long's expression was still cold after hearing these words, but the ends of his eyebrows had gradually drooped, he sighed softly and said, "The sect is powerful, far beyond what we cultivators can compare to. You and I are fellow practitioners, and I hope we can help each other in some matters."

Wang Long glanced at him, his expression slightly strange, and replied calmly, "Zhaoyan is an ancient immortal sect, and has always stood on the side of all cultivators in the world. Speaking of fellow practitioners, who isn't one of them? Brother Shen has misspoke."

Shen Tong smiled without saying a word, watching the three of them walk inside. Finally, he lowered his head and snorted. He waited until Zhong Luohe appeared before entering the valley with her.

The valley is deep and secluded, with clear water flowing gently.

The scenery of heaven and earth is naturally formed, requiring little arrangement. This place is a beautiful and eye-catching landscape in itself. Zhao Chun wanted to use it to entertain guests, so she waved her sleeve and added a few pavilions and towers in this deep valley. They may not be exquisite and magnificent, but they are at least well-arranged and have a distinctive style.

Wan Chong intended to befriend her and arrived earliest today. However, he didn't know what she was planning and didn't want to ask too many questions. It wasn't until Wang Long and the others arrived that he stood up with a smile and greeted the three of them in turn.

As Zhao Chun rose to greet the guests, she observed them closely. In less than two glances, she had discerned most of the true nature of Wei Yan's three disciples. Jiao Jiangcai, who had attained enlightenment through lower-level methods, possessed only mediocre strength and posed no threat. The other disciple, Rong Jin, was slightly better than her, likely surpassing her in cultivation, but still not reaching the late stage of the Divine Transformation realm.

Therefore, among these three, the one with the deepest cultivation is the eldest disciple, Wang Long. In terms of skill, he is comparable to the old snake mother from back then.

On the day of Wan Chong, he had no choice but to fight the two members of the Jiao family. Otherwise, if Wang Long had been lured out, he would have been unable to deal with him alone.

Zhao Chun stood up straight and watched the three men walk in with heavy hearts. A smile appeared on his face at the right time. He said, "This is a quiet and secluded place. Fellow Daoists, you don't need to be so reserved. I just thought that I haven't met you all since I entered the city many days ago. Now that I have the opportunity, I would like to invite you all here for a chat."

She then raised her sleeve again, leading Wang Long and the other two to sit down. Hearing that she really had something to discuss, the latter hesitated for a moment before lowering his voice and saying, "I am already overwhelmed with gratitude for the invitation from the Sword Lord. Upon hearing that the Heavenly Human Sect has wreaked havoc in the city, I, as a disciple of Master Wei, feel that I have been negligent and am truly ashamed. Therefore, I wish to assist the Sword Lord in quelling this chaos, which will serve as my way of making amends."

Before Zhao Chun could speak, Wang Long had already taken the initiative. If she had truly come to eliminate evil, having someone like Wang Long, who was deeply rooted in this place, to help her would indeed make her efforts twice as effective.

Wang Long volunteered for the task precisely because he wanted to keep the matter under his control. The Heavenly Human Sect was founded by extraordinary individuals, and its infiltration into the city was virtually impossible to prevent. If Zhao Yan's disciples were to investigate and eradicate it, they could use this as a pretext to do much more. At that point, it would be perfectly reasonable for Zhao Chun to intervene, and no one would dare to object.

Moreover, the matter concerning the Celestial Sect is somewhat unusual, and since it has alarmed the Void Realm cultivators, even Master Wei would find it difficult to provide an explanation.

Wang Long had his own concerns, but Zhao Chun simply waved his hand and smiled at him, saying, "Why bother fellow Daoist with such a trivial matter? We'll see the results in a few days. The reason I invited you all here today is that there's another matter to discuss. Let's wait until everyone is here before we talk about it."

Wang Long took a deep breath. He was completely baffled by the other party's intentions. He could only wait until Zhong Luohe and Shen Tong entered before Zhao Chun invited them to sit down. She then exchanged a few brief pleasantries with them, repeating her previous words, before sitting up straight and glancing casually at the people on either side of her. The eldest disciple, Zhong Luohe, was taciturn, while the junior brother, Shen Tong, was straightforward and frank. In the ensuing conversation, Shen Tong was in charge for most of the time, and he didn't seem reserved at all when speaking to Zhao Chun.

Seeing this, Wang Long and the others did not show any unusual reaction, which shows that Shen Tong's character is like this and there is no major change in him.

Zhao Chun placed her hands in front of her and saw that everyone was present. A white light shot out from her sleeve. When she unfolded it, she saw that it was a roughly undulating map of the southern region.

Now that it was time to get down to business, everyone present composed themselves and began to ponder. Zhao Chun slowly said, "As you all know, although we have fought hard for the past hundred years, the whereabouts of these strange people are unpredictable and evil spirits are emerging one after another. To this day, we have never been able to suppress them. Instead, we have allowed them to grow stronger and stronger, to the point that they have become quite troublesome."

She half-raised her eyes, instantly taking in the expressions of the six people around her, and continued, "Therefore, the current strategy is to take Dingxian City, Wanjian Alliance and Yunque Mountain as the three boundaries, first eliminate the demons and monsters within the territory, then trace the strange people, until the three places are settled, then we can force the strange people into the East Sea, so that our northern sects can send troops south to block them at sea."

Wang Long and the others were slightly surprised. First, they hadn't expected Zhao Chun to tell them about such a grand plan so directly. Second, while the arrangement made sense, its execution was far beyond Zhao Chun's capabilities alone. Even with his six men, it would still be far from enough!
Upon further reflection, Dingxian City has relied on the protection of various sects in the distant past century, sharing the pressure brought by the demons and monsters from beyond the boundary with many nearby cities and sects of all sizes. As Zhao Chun said, with Dingxian City as the eastern boundary, most of the forces further east will have to move west, and then they will have to face those many demons and monsters directly.

This isn't something that can be accomplished just by talking about it!

The demons beyond the boundary are terrifying. Great demons comparable to those of external transformation and those who can communicate with gods can break through the boundary at any time. Occasionally, there are demons that only cultivators of the Void Realm can deal with, who lurk outside. Wang Long only saw one demon and felt his soul tremble. In the end, Wei Yan personally took action to stop the demon outside the boundary, but he was unable to kill it. Instead, the demon escaped into the void outside the boundary and disappeared without a trace.

Dingxian City was able to maintain its position as the hub of the South only because of the presence of these three Void Realm experts. Wang Long dared not imagine what would happen if all the demons and monsters from the east marched towards this place.
Wang Long's expression was solemn, yet he dared not use this as an excuse. His mind was in turmoil, and he could only hastily reply, "Such a big matter cannot be easily promised to the Sword Lord. I must report to my master and ask him to make the decision. I wonder if your sect..."

Wang Long's words seemed to leave something unsaid, and he assumed that Zhao Chun was asking which Void Realm expert in the Zhaoyan Sect was in charge of this matter. However, Zhao Chun leaned back and answered him decisively, "I will be in charge of this matter. Fellow Daoist, you can rest assured to consult your master. But if you encounter any difficulties, my sect will have someone to help. You don't need to worry about that."

Zhao Chun's confident assertion only made Wang Long and the others more anxious. A moment later, she turned to the three people on the other side and asked, "What are your thoughts, fellow Daoists?"

Having received guidance from his master, Wan Chong wholeheartedly supported Zhao Chun's words and had no other intentions. Therefore, he said without hesitation, "Since this matter is beneficial to all cultivators, we have no reason not to agree. Master Ju has suffered from the chaos in the world for a long time. If he hears this news, he will surely be very happy."

Shen Tong glanced at Zhong Luohe's cold face, lost in thought. He waited until Wan Chong finished speaking before slowly saying, "Sword Lord cares for the world, how can we not respond? However, as Brother Wang said, since our master has not spoken on this important matter in the city, we are afraid that we cannot do anything. So, my senior sister and I were asked to report this matter to our master first. If we receive good news, we will definitely convey it to Sword Lord."

His words and actions were reasonable and there was nothing wrong with them.

Zhao Chun waved her hand to tuck the map into her sleeve, her brow furrowing slightly as if she had some concerns. She sighed softly and said, "I cannot disobey my master's orders, and I cannot force you all. However, there is one more thing that I would like to ask you fellow Daoists for your help with."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Long became alert, wondering what Zhao Chun wanted to ask him for a favor. He was slightly uneasy and said, "Sword Lord, please speak freely."

Zhao Chun nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "When I came here from Zhongjian City, I saw some ruined places along the way. Although they were long deserted, they were still occupied by demons and monsters, making people afraid to approach. Whenever cultivators traveled through them, they had to take a detour and carefully avoid them. If this continues, more and more demons and monsters will block the road, which is definitely not a good thing for us. Moreover, after we have emptied the land, we are afraid that they will find human traces and cause trouble elsewhere. Therefore, I would like to ask you all to work together to eradicate the demons and monsters in those places so that the road can be cleared."

Wang Long was puzzled. He thought to himself that this was not only not a big deal, but also not an urgent matter. As long as those demons from outside the boundary did not take the initiative to provoke them, they would rarely exert any effort to subdue them. After all, as long as the boundary gap was not sealed, the demons would never be completely killed. Why bother with this trouble?
In the silence, Shen Tong responded loudly, "Why not? Although I have no special skills, I am willing to follow your orders in this matter."