Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 192 Don't Leave

"Big brother! Young master! Young lady!" Seeing that the plain-clothed scholar Han Yundao and Pei Que had not spoken yet, the short-bearded cultivator who was being escorted by the two of them was able to identify his companions whose heads and bodies were separated from each other in the mess, and immediately cried out.

"What a mess of names." Han Yundao and Pei Que frowned when they heard it.

The scholar in plain clothes ignored the crying of the short-bearded monk and glanced at Han and Pei. He saw that the two young men had extraordinary appearances and were wearing exquisite accessories. They must be the children of good families.

The scholar in plain clothes had been traveling in Pingrong County for some time, so he had some good eyesight. With just a quick glance, he would not confuse the two of them with the robber cultivators he had wiped out before.

Looking at the short-bearded monk who was captured by the two of them, who was full of bandit spirit, a gleam of brilliance flashed in the plain-clothed scholar's eyes, and he understood in his heart: "Most likely he was asked by his family elders to come to find trouble with this group of robbers. Since there are elders around, it is not appropriate to just kill them casually. Let's discuss it first."

"My name is Xie Liusheng. Today, I was harassed by a group of robbers when I passed by this road, so I came here for a visit. I wonder why you two fellow Taoists are here?" Xie Liusheng's cultivation level has now reached the sixth level of Qi training, and he thinks that his skills are top-notch among his peers.

In addition, he was wealthy and even owned more than one first-grade top-quality magical instruments that ordinary casual cultivators dreamed of. Facing the two young boys, Han Yundao and Pei Que, he was confident that he could defeat them.

Now all we have to do is to find out who their master is. If they are from a small sect, then they are much richer than the previous group of robber cultivators with all their robes and magic weapons.

After Xie Liusheng finished speaking, he narrowed his eyes slightly. Pei Que saw it clearly and became a little nervous. He pulled Han Yundao's sleeve to remind him. The plain-clothed scholar in front of him looked dignified and upright, but he might not be a good person.

Who knows if the person who exterminated the robbery cultivators is also a robbery cultivator?

"Xie Liusheng?" Han Yundao muttered nervously. The plain-clothed scholar in front of him gradually overlapped with the man in his memory who came to the small cloud and mist formation to deliver the invitation. Han Yundao immediately bowed and asked, "Excuse me, is Brother Xie a disciple of Mr. Yushan?"

"Oh?" Xie Liusheng was quite surprised. Did he really meet an old acquaintance?
"I am indeed Mr. Yushan's disciple. May I ask where my fellow Taoist's immortal hometown is?" Xie Liusheng's eyes softened a little, but he did not loosen the hand seal hidden in his sleeves. A smile appeared on his face, and he looked much kinder.

Han Yundao and Pei Que also did not dare to relax at all. The life-saving items distributed by Master Kang before they came were already in their hands and could be used at any time.

Han Yundao continued, "My younger brother Han Yundao, this is my junior fellow apprentice Pei Que, and my master is the head of the Chongming Sect, Kang Gong. A few years ago, when my Taoist brother came to Bimen to deliver the invitation to the treasure fair on behalf of my uncle Qin, I was beside my master, so I had the honor of hearing of your name. I didn't expect to see you again this time. I am really lucky."

"Oh my, so it's my two brothers who are here. I acted cautiously but almost harmed my relatives. I'm so guilty." After hearing what Han Yun said, Xie Liusheng's eyes and tone softened immediately. He bowed and kept apologizing.

As Xie Liusheng bowed, he thought: "Kang Dabao is no longer the same as he was before. He has made Chongmingzong prosperous, and many high officials in the state court think highly of him.

However, ever since their nominal master left with Yin Shangong, the fellow practitioners' association has been in a mess due to the power struggles among a few elders. To say that the association is in decline is an understatement.

I never thought I would meet his disciples here. Fortunately, I was cautious and did not kill these two guys directly. Otherwise, I would be in big trouble."

"You're welcome, brother!" Han Yundao and Pei Que felt relieved after hearing Xie Liusheng's words, and immediately bowed in return.

The three men put the short-bearded man aside and sat on the stone bench at the entrance of the bandits' lair to chat.

"Oh, you two brothers came here to track down this group of robbers." Xie Liusheng said with a smile, "The leader of this group is blind. I was just walking and didn't get in his way, but he robbed me. I deserve this misfortune."

When Pei Que followed Pei Yi in the early years, he encountered robbers who harmed people. He knew that this kind of people were often the most bullying and afraid of evil, so it didn't make sense to choose Xie Liusheng, who was a difficult person at first sight.

"Most likely he is using some trick of pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger to lure people into the trap so that he can earn some resources." Pei Que thought to himself.

Han Yundao, on the other hand, imitated the words of the elders and began to speak: "If it weren't for this, we brothers wouldn't be able to meet each other."

Xie Liusheng laughed loudly in response, saying, "Yes, yes, that's right. They have made contributions. You two brothers came at the right time. This bandit's nest is deep and deep. I am not able to clear it out yet. Now that the three of us are together, we will be safe."

Han Yundao felt somewhat happy that a few words meant to bring them closer together would make Xie Liusheng willing to take some of the spoils with them.

He thought that learning to speak from his master was really useful, and was quite proud of it. He pulled Pei Que to thank him.

The reason why Xie Liusheng spoke so generously was, of course, that according to his experience, these nomadic strongholds of robbers usually did not have any good things, and the only thing they could really trust was their own storage bags.

The fact was indeed as Xie Liusheng had expected. There were only a few things worth seeing in the temporary base of a group of elite robbers.

After searching for a while, the three of them only found a bottle of charred medicine with a strange smell, two broken low-grade magic tools, and a few low-level talismans that were obviously made by wild talisman masters.

However, these things were really not to the liking of Han Yundao and Pei Que.

The two did not want to owe Xie Liusheng a favor, so they thanked him for his suggestion to split the things equally and just took the bottle of medicine that no one could recognize.

The two men made up their minds that this pill must not be given to humans, so they would first find a gold-eating rat to feed it a pill. If the rat didn't die after eating it, then they would feed the rest to the old donkey.

Xie Liusheng could see clearly what the two were thinking, so he didn't try to persuade them.

The three were about to leave the bandit's nest when they heard someone outside crying heart-wrenchingly, followed by a rain of arrows.

This sudden rain of arrows did not work. Xie Liusheng only summoned a golden bell magic weapon, turned it into a ten-foot tall object, and rushed out against the rain of arrows. He broke countless rock pillars and stalagmites along the way. While resisting the sudden attack of the rain of arrows, he also splashed up a large amount of dust.

"Is it that short-bearded cultivator?!" Han Yundao and Pei Que were immediately embarrassed after being attacked by their own captives.

"Tsk, why didn't you kill him earlier?" Han Yundao remembered his master's admonition not to underestimate any opponent, and the impression deepened in his mind.

Then the three of them followed Jin Zhong and rushed out of the bandit's nest.

"Blood Burning Technique?" Xie Liusheng exclaimed softly, and with just one glance, he understood why this short-bearded cultivator was able to break free from the restriction.

At this moment, the short-bearded cultivator had a violent look on his face, his hair and beard stood up, and his two narrow eyes glowed red. He was pulling a bow that he had found from nowhere, and firing arrows continuously. A large blood mist rose from his skin, making him look like a dead person.

It is true that the Blood Burning Technique is a common secret technique, but it can kill people when used. There are only a few cultivators who can muster the determination to practice it.

So, not to mention Han Yundao and Pei Que, who were both less knowledgeable and had never seen it before, even Xie Liusheng was seeing it for the first time.

The ferocity of this short-bearded cultivator at this moment cannot be underestimated. If only Han Yundao and Pei Que were present, it would not be easy to subdue him without some effort.

Unfortunately, Xie Liusheng was not afraid of him at this moment. The golden bell shook, and a sound wave drove away the dozens of arrows.

Then a trident appeared in Xie Liusheng's hand, with the two small tips on the trident emitting a golden aura. He ran to the side of the short-bearded monk and lightly circled around him, leaving two deep cuts on his left and right shoulders where he was drawing the bow and arrow. The short-bearded monk was completely unaware of the pain, and he let go of the bowstring while roaring, then shot fiercely at Xie Liusheng.

The arrow flew out, but was easily blocked by Jin Zhong. At the same time, the two arms of the short-bearded cultivator suddenly fell down, hitting the ground and covered with dust.

The short-bearded cultivator was still roaring, running towards him crazily with the wind under his feet. Xie Liusheng had no mercy in his eyes, and he skillfully stabbed, turned, and lifted his halberd, easily removing the head of the short-bearded cultivator.

The blood column that shot up into the sky due to the separation of the short-bearded man's head and body did not attract Xie Liusheng's attention for a moment. After doing all this, Xie Liusheng turned around and said, "This bastard's newly used magic bow is quite good. If you two brothers are interested, you can also have it."

Xie Liusheng was halfway through his words when he noticed that Han Yundao and Pei Que were not paying attention to him at all.

It didn't take long for them to understand what was going on. It turned out that half of a magic circle was exposed in the stone wall that was previously broken by the golden bell, which attracted the attention of both of them.

At this moment, a token flew out from Han Yundao's hand at a rapid speed, giving Xie Liusheng no chance to react at all.

Xie Liusheng's eyes were stern, and the golden bell shook again. A thin layer of stone shell attached to the outside of the magic circle fell off, revealing the complete magic circle.

"Is this a cultivator's cave?" Xie Liusheng saw it clearly, and thought to himself that this group of robber cultivators were really lucky, but their luck was a little bad. They had lived next to this cultivator's cave for such a long time without even discovering it, and instead made things difficult for themselves.

However, how can such a good thing be shared with others? This formation is quite extraordinary at first glance, and the precious things in it are not comparable to the rags in the previous bandit nests.

Just as some thoughts came to Xie Liusheng's mind, he turned around and saw that Han Yundao and Pei Que had already activated a simple formation. Each of them held a magic weapon in the formation, looking at him, ready to fight.

"Brother Dao, the robber cultivator just now might have accomplices. I have sent a message to the master. My uncle Jiang is nearby and will come to support him soon. Don't worry, brother Dao."

Han Yundao held the flying sword horizontally. Although he spoke politely, Xie Liusheng could hear the threat in his words and began to make plans in his mind.

Not to mention that Qin Sufu was only his nominal master, and he had never taken care of his cheap apprentice since he went to the state court to enjoy his life. His relationship with Han and Pei was so shallow that he was reluctant to share the opportunity with them. Even if he was Kang Dabao's biological apprentice, he would not recognize his relatives when the interests were at stake, and he would have to do it with these two junior brothers to feel relieved.

When Xie Liusheng thought of this, a murderous look just rose in his eyes. However, when he heard Han Yun say the three words "Uncle Jiang", Xie Liusheng shuddered.

That was a person whom his nominal master Qin Sufu had praised highly. Don't think that Xie Liusheng was so nonchalant when he fought against several casual cultivators before. If he really had to fight against the contemporary number one swordsman of Chongming Sect, he would definitely be dead.

Not to mention, he no longer has a place in the fellow practitioners association. If the Chongming Sect really comes knocking on his door, those elders who are used to fighting openly and secretly will most likely not protect him.

The risk of killing these two brothers and taking the cave alone was too great, so Xie Liusheng had no choice but to hesitate.

Xie Liusheng didn't think for too long, and immediately put away the Golden Bell Halberd, with a smile on his face: "My dear brother, you are thoughtful. In this case, I will go to the outside of this formation to explore. If Uncle Jiang comes, it would be too rude for us, the younger generation, to be ignorant of anything."

Before Xie Liusheng finished speaking, he quickly stepped outside the magic circle, picked up the compass and started calculating.

Cultivators like Xie Liusheng who roamed around various counties and had some skills naturally knew a little about the various arts of cultivation. For example, they knew some simple tricks like holding a compass and reciting a few sentences: "The spirit is very smart, with a piece of armor on its head, the Southern Dipper is on the left, and the Seven Stars are on the right."

But they are often miscellaneous and not refined, and few of their skills are up to par.

This is the case now. After a rough calculation and trying several positions, Xie Liusheng said it was not good.

His shallow skills in formations were not enough to break the formation. The formation was at least of the upper grade of the first level. Although its power had decreased a lot due to its age, it would not be possible for him to break it by force alone.

Seeing that he couldn't keep it all for himself, and even his plan to get some benefits first failed, Xie Liusheng felt discouraged and frustrated.

"It seems that the only way is to wait for the elders of Chongming Sect to come. I hope Jiang Qing can get more soup." Thinking of this, Xie Liusheng regretted it again. If he had not been so explicit just now and had established good relations with Han Yundao and Pei Que, he would not be so passive now.

There is no medicine for regret in the world, so Xie Liusheng could only comfort himself that the Chongming Sect has always had a good reputation, and there have been few cruel and bloodthirsty people since Kang Dabao. He did not do anything too extreme, so he should not be blamed.

Just as Xie Liusheng was thinking this, he saw two cultivators, one tall and one thin, landing here on a flying boat. Han Yundao and Pei Que finally relaxed when they saw the people coming and took down the formation plate.

Pei Que hurriedly asked, "Second Uncle, Senior Brother Wei, is Third Uncle coming?"

Yuan Jin frowned after hearing what Pei Que said. The third child was at the stage of breaking through the ninth level of Qi training and had not come to the Chongming Market with him and the others. Pei Que clearly knew it, so why was he still asking?
But after a while, when his spiritual sense swept over Xie Liusheng, he realized that there was another person at the sixth level of Qi training here.

"Why? I, the senior brother, am coming, and he, the junior brother, dares to snatch it away? I killed a few ignorant casual cultivators on the way, and asked him to stay behind to clean up. He will come later."

Yuan Jin deliberately put on a stern face and retorted in a rough voice, which made Wei Gu, who came with him, puzzled, but Han Yundao and Pei Que cheered in their hearts.

When Xie Liusheng saw that the person who came was not Jiang Qing, the strange thoughts that had arisen in his mind were suppressed after hearing Yuan Jin's words.

At this time he also came over, bowed and said: "I am Xie Liusheng, a disciple of Mr. Yushan, and I pay my respects to my uncle. I am not very good at seeing, so I don't know which elder of the Chongming Sect is here, so I hope to ask for your advice."

Yuan Jin, who was also at the sixth level of Qi training, accepted Xie Liusheng's greeting calmly. After nodding, he glanced at Xie Liusheng and said, "My dear nephew, you are worthy of being my brother Qin's disciple. You have a solid foundation and are a promising young man. My surname is Yuan, and I am the second child in the family. I wonder if my dear nephew has heard of me."

Of course Yuan Jin knew what Xie Liusheng meant by that Mr. Yushan's disciples were just trying to climb up the social ladder. In his early years, Kang Dabao had entrusted him with the management of all the relationships with relatives and friends.

He had seen all the disciples that Qin Sufu really cared about and kept by his side. Since Xie Liusheng didn't recognize him, he was probably just a disciple in name only.

"Is this person Yuan Jin?!" Xie Liusheng completely suppressed the strange thoughts in his mind. Originally, he had some thoughts when he saw that the person was also at the sixth level of Qi training, but now...
"This is the most brutal and bloodthirsty person in Chongming Sect!"

"Greetings, Uncle Yuan." Seeing Xie Liusheng admitting defeat so blatantly, Yuan Jin nodded with satisfaction, turned to look at Wei Guyan and said, "Wei, nephew, go and take a look at the formation."

Wei Gu obeyed the order and took out the compass to calculate carefully.

As the saying goes, every profession has its specialties. It only took Wei Gu a short while to find several possible weak points in the formation.

Xie Liusheng volunteered to try, but failed to break it, so he looked at Wei Gu with doubt. The meaning in the plain-clothed scholar's eyes was very simple: "Can you do it?"

Wei Gu's face turned pale and red when Xie Liusheng looked at him. Although he was only a first-rank low-grade formation master, a first-rank low-grade formation master was also a genuine formation master and had his own pride.

Seeing that Yuan Jin was also looking at him, Wei Gu quickly explained, "Uncle Yuan, this formation is a common Liuhe Hunyuan formation, it is not of high grade, and it is mostly broken due to years of disrepair. Even if there are mistakes in my calculation, they should not be wrong everywhere, Uncle Yuan."

Wei Gu was a bad talker, and after a lot of explanations, he could only reverse the meaning of "it won't be wrong". Yuan Jin could see that he was anxious, so he comforted him: "Okay, Junior Brother Wei, it won't be too late for me to give it a try."

With a "click" sound, Xie Liusheng saw clearly how sharp the once famous Ape Demon Cannon Hammer of Chongming Sect was.

Seeing that the nodes of the magic array that remained motionless after being hit by his spear were as fragile as eggshells under Yuan Jin's fist, the array immediately shattered, dispersing into countless lights that fell down.

Xie Liusheng was horrified but secretly glad at the same time, and followed Yuan Jin into the cultivator's cave that had troubled him for a long time.

This cultivator's cultivation level was not necessarily very high during his lifetime, and Yuan Jin guessed that he probably had not yet established his foundation.

Because there are not many things in this cave, there are only one top-grade magic weapon, seven or eight mid-grade magic weapons, the remains of a cultivator, the skeleton of a spirit beast, and four or five volumes of wild-level skills and Taoist techniques with annotations.

There were also some small items that were not of high quality but had some spiritual essence scattered around, and Yuan Jin took them all. He planned to take them back and give them to Ye Zhengwen for reference. The latter's spiritual appraisal level was top-notch in Pingrong County, and he would not miss any hidden gems.

After a thorough search with a few disciples and finding nothing, Yuan Jin led the way out of the cultivator's cave with great satisfaction.

It is true that there are no extraordinary high-end items here, but getting so many good things without much effort can be considered a great gain.

Yuan Jin generously allowed Xie Liusheng to pick out two mid-grade magic weapons, and his three disciples also chose one each. Yuan Jin would take the rest back to Sect Leader Kang.

Although Xie Liusheng was envious, he did not dare to say much. Yuan Jin was already quite kind. If it were not for the people from Chongming Sect being here, he would not even be able to enter the cave. Didn't he see that Wei Gu, who had been suspected by him before, turned his head and looked at him with a look of relief?

"My dear nephew, I haven't seen you for a long time. Come! Come back with us and have a drink today." Yuan Jin smiled and grabbed Xie Liusheng's arm, pretending to be arm in arm with him and chatting happily.

However, Xie Liusheng had a guilty conscience and didn't dare to go. He just wanted to break free, but found that his arms seemed to be tightly clamped by an iron clamp and he couldn't move at all.

Now he knew that he was going to settle some old scores, so he could only agree in a hoarse voice: "That's exactly what I meant. Thank you for your help, uncle."

Han Yundao and Pei Que, who were standing nearby, were delighted by the scene, but Wei Gu was still confused. He mistakenly believed that this rude scholar had won the favor of his uncle-master, and he couldn't help feeling a little regretful.

"I seem to have been a little rude earlier." Not to mention how upset Wei Gu, the honest man, was along the way, Yuan Jin drove the flying boat and carried everyone to Chongming Market.

Sect Leader Kang was meeting with guests at the time. Upon learning that everyone had returned, he only called Yuan Jin in.

Xie Liusheng was outside with his head down, his eyes rolling around, thinking about how to get out, but he heard Kang Dabao coming out laughing.

Kang Dabao's movements were not slow. Xie Liusheng only felt that his left and right arms were tightly grasped by two rough big hands again, making it even more difficult to break free than before.

This made Xie Liusheng shocked: "I only heard that Kang Dabao has bullied many women over the years, how come his cultivation has improved by leaps and bounds?" When he went to deliver the invitations that year, Kang Dabao's cultivation was not as good as his, so he couldn't even call him "uncle". He never thought that the latter's cultivation had surpassed his own and he became a late-stage cultivator.

"Most likely he sold himself to become the son-in-law of the Fei family." Xie Liusheng was still surprised, and then he heard Kang Dabao say loudly: "It's good that nephew Xie is here, and don't leave if you are here."

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(End of this chapter)