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Chapter 263 The Real Root of the Problem

It is located in a valley on the northwest side of the Dongping Mountains, near a wild lake.

Because the forest was damp, the branches used for burning crackled and sparks flew everywhere.

The two leaders of the Heavenly Academy, Qin Rong and Ji Jingyao, along with Elder Fang and Elder Ge from the Elders' Pavilion, stood on a low cliff, watching the cultivators resting at the bottom of the valley.

To the east were disciples of their Heavenly Academy, while to the west and south were disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect and the Mountain and Sea Pavilion. In addition, there were a few scattered disciples from other sects recovering their strength here, their faces flickering in and out of the light of the constantly leaping fire.

It took a month to investigate Dou Yuankong's matter, and another month and a half has passed since we entered the mountains.

From discovering the existence of the Bu family to realizing they had underestimated their terror, and then sending even more disciples, they had been busy for half a month, but had not gained anything.

But neither the people from the Heavenly Academy nor those from other immortal sects showed any signs of fatigue; on the contrary, they seemed somewhat excited.

Because anyone who has witnessed the Bu family members transform into evil corpses knows that this is something capable of overturning the world.

"More than twenty members of the Bu family fled into the mountains. The most key figures have never shown themselves, and it seems they are hiding."

"And most of them were sent out to distract us and lead us around aimlessly in the mountains."

"These disciples are only slightly stronger than those at the Rongdao level, yet we can't even find or capture them."

Elder Fang stood with his hands behind his back, his gloomy voice drifting into the wind.

He was a powerful being in the Boundless Realm, and his divine sense was stronger than others, but he was still powerless in the face of the vast Dongping Mountains.

So they sent their disciples out to search everywhere, but after so many days they had no results, and their tone was tinged with reproach.

Ji Jingyao and Qin Rong glanced at him upon hearing this: "Six disciples we sent to search Beishan died and eight were injured. This was all to capture them alive. If the goal was to kill them, we would not be in such a passive position."

Elder Fang looked at them upon hearing this: "What can we find out by killing them? We need to know exactly how they were mutated into evil species so that we can take precautions."

Upon hearing this, the two couldn't help but exchange a glance.

They all knew that Elder Fang's words of caution were just empty words.

In fact, almost everyone in the valley felt the same way. They didn't think that people being able to mutate into evil species was a great calamity, but rather that it was an opportunity.

Especially those old monsters in the Elders' Hall who have little time left to live.

They had been stuck in a rut for years, and were on the verge of collapse. How could they sit still upon hearing this news?

Elder Fang looked at their expressions, a cold glint flashing in his deep-set eyes: "Things in Qingyun are not simply black and white. Some things can be omitted, but they cannot be absent."

Upon hearing this, Elder Ge immediately replied, "Elder Fang is right. The lack of talent is the root of trouble. You two are both heads of your respective families. Have you ever thought about what would happen if one day you were to fight with your families and there were so many people with the Daoist cultivation level, running rampant in Yingtian? How would you handle that situation?"

After listening, Ji Jingyao remained silent for a long time, then nodded slightly: "What the two elders say is absolutely right. In the world of Qingyun, if others have something that you don't, that is the real root of trouble."

Elder Fang glanced down at the valley and said, “Other immortal sects have sent more disciples than us, and their cultivation levels are also higher. We should send some more disciples with higher cultivation levels.”

Qin Rong looked up upon hearing this: "The fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better. If everyone has the same opportunity, then it's not very meaningful."

"That's something to think about after you've had the opportunity."

"Elder Fang means...?"

"There are many disciples in the inner courtyard who spend their days idly sitting on the mountain meditating on the Dao. They should make some contributions to the sect."

Elder Fang's idea of ​​sending more disciples was accurately conveyed to Qin Rong and Ji Jingyao, but the problem was that this was not an easy task.

The more people involved, the higher the risk of information leaks.

Moreover, this is not a tour, but a capture operation, which will result in casualties, so the selection of personnel must be extremely careful.

At this moment, Ji Jingyao was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but look at Qin Rong.

Qin Rong met his gaze, and a name that matched his own came to mind—Ji You.

In the eyes of everyone in the academy, Ji You is the most useful disciple of the Heavenly Academy, having conquered the Sword Forest, crossed the Snow Region, and won the Heavenly Dao Tournament.

It's a pity he failed to break through his cultivation level after leaving the sacred land of the sages; otherwise, even if he had entered the realm of Dao Fusion, he would have been of great use.

Qin Rong sighed softly, and suddenly heard Elder Ge's voice in his ear.

"Why is there some commotion?"

"?"

The four of them looked up together and saw that a group of disciples from the Dao Asking Sect had returned, seemingly carrying something.

Before the group could get a clear view, a group of disciples from the Heavenly Academy arrived in the valley, immediately sparking discussion.

Upon seeing this, Elder Fang instantly plummeted down the cliff, followed by Elder Ge, Qin Rong, and Ji Jingyao.

Then they saw a head, eyes closed, pale skin with a somber black hue.

Elder Fang looked at the severed head in front of him with a hint of anger: "Why did you kill it?!"

The disciple who brought back the corpse looked up at the sound and said somewhat timidly, "Although it's not alive, it's still a member of the Bu family. Could... could you exchange it for some pills?"

"What's the point of dying? Didn't I give the order to leave them alive?"

"This this……"

Elder Fang looked at them coldly: "Where did you get the audacity to disobey the imperial order?"

The returning disciples looked up, hesitated for a long time, and then couldn't help but speak up: "Reporting to the elder, we didn't actually kill them."

Qin Rong and Ji Jingyao exchanged a glance: "You didn't kill them?"

"We just found their bodies while we were searching."

"?"

Elder Fang frowned instantly: "Where did you see it?"

The disciple who answered immediately bowed his head: "There are three bodies in a valley to the east..."

"Who did it?"

"When we arrived, there were only corpses left in the valley, and we didn't know who had done it."

Upon hearing this, Elder Fang's eyes instantly turned icy cold: "What a waste!"

His lifespan was running out. For the past few decades, he had placed his hopes on breaking through to a higher realm but had not succeeded. His mind was already gloomy, and now that he had finally seen some hope, it was being ruined by others. He was unable to find peace.

Seeing Elder Fang's exasperation, the two stewards couldn't help but exchange a glance, a hint of confusion flashing in their eyes.

Because they had just examined the slash wound on the neck and found that the wound was clean and crisp, clearly indicating that the person had handled it with ease.

But they couldn't understand why the attacker didn't capture him alive to exchange for pills, spirit stones, and spells, but instead beheaded him with a single sword strike.

Qin Rong and Ji Jingyao couldn't help but snap out of their daze and look in the direction of the Dao Seeking Sect.

If what I just saw was correct, the bodies they brought back should also be those of the Bu family.

In fact, their guess was correct. Apart from the Pill Sect, almost all the other immortal sects that came here had disciples who discovered corpses scattered in the mountains and forests.

The Daoist Sect, the Chen Clan, the Mountain and Sea Pavilion... all were abuzz with discussion.

"Did someone really kill the Bu family and then dump their bodies in the wilderness?"

"That's right, we've found five bodies. All of them had their necks severed with a single sword strike. They didn't stop there to leave any survivors."

"The lowest level among the Bu family members who fled into the mountains is the Fusion Dao Realm. In addition, they can mutate into evil seeds, making them even more terrifying. Who else has such strong combat power?"

"Could it be an elder from some sect?"

"Impossible. All the major immortal sects have their own decrees to ensure that the Bu family members are spared."

"Not entirely."

"?"

"It is said that the young master of Lingjian Mountain issued an order to kill him."

"Impossible. We encountered some Lingjian Mountain disciples recently, and they told us that they were also required to leave survivors."

"Those are disciples of Heavenly Sword Peak. Spirit Sword Mountain is different from other immortal sects; it is the only immortal sect with two leaders. Heavenly Sword Peak obeys the orders of its sect leader, Yan Zhong, while Profound Sword Peak obeys the orders of its appraiser."

"Could it be that the one who killed the Bu family members was an elder from Xuanjian Peak?"

The young master of Lingjian Mountain did indeed issue the extermination order, a fact known to all the other immortal sects.

So when the bodies of the Bu family members were continuously discovered, the first thing that came to everyone's mind was Xuanjian Peak.

Most importantly, those evil beings were indeed killed by sharp swords, which is highly consistent with the facts.

In the deep darkness of the mountains and forests, a powerful figure from the Immortal Sect stood with his hands behind his back amidst the mountains, his gaze slightly cold.

In their view, it was not surprising that the young master of Lingjian Mountain, who was already in charge of a sacred artifact at a young age and had extremely high talent, would issue such an imperial decree, as he did not have a strong desire to seek external opportunities.

However, in the eyes of these powerful figures, she was still considered to be too arrogant.

The opportunities that the Bu family members have are not just about the cultivation level of a single person; they can even affect the ranking system of Qingyun Tianxia, ​​the survival of aristocratic families, and the entire Nine Provinces.

rustling-

Under the gloomy sky, the sky over the Dongping Mountains did not brighten much with the arrival of dawn.

Ji You stood among the ancient trees with their intertwined roots and gently patted his back.

There weren't many good places to stay in the mountains, so he didn't sleep last night but instead meditated to calm his mind. After waking up, he missed his bed at the Heavenly Academy, or his bed in Ji Village, or of course, the arrogant ghost's phoenix bed was also quite nice...

He leaped into the air and landed on a towering blue stone, using the limited daylight to determine his route.

The Dongping Mountains rise continuously, with intersecting peaks that never seem to reach the sky, resulting in increasingly lower temperatures the deeper one ventures into the mountains.

The hillside ahead was now covered in snow, and even the chirping of insects had diminished considerably.

"This environment is somewhat similar to where I came from."

Zhuo Wanqiu was standing guard nearby, holding a delicate longsword. Upon hearing the voice, she couldn't help but look up: "Is the young master referring to Yuyang County?"

Ji You shook her head: "Somewhere else."

Zhuo Wanqiu was stunned for a moment, her eyes looking somewhat blank.

Seeing this, Ji You spoke up: "The people the Bu family used to distract us are scattered. Compared to the seven great immortal sects, my advantage is that I can vaguely sense their locations, but my disadvantage is that I am only one person. If we want to kill the Bu family members before everyone else, we need to speed up. If you get tired, just tell me." Zhuo Wanqiu shook her head after hearing this: "The son-in-law's matter is important. We can keep up."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than footsteps approached from afar.

Ding Yao emerged from a distant cave, now dressed in a different outfit: "Young Master, I'm ready."

Ji You gave her a strange look, then coughed twice and said, "Let's go then."

"Yes."

Ding Yao felt that her future son-in-law was a bit aloof today, but she didn't think much of it and followed him.

Ji You was incredibly fast, his spiritual energy whistling as he flew low across the ground. Fortunately, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu weren't delicate young ladies, and they didn't complain at all despite the intense pursuit.

Even when their spiritual energy is depleted, they will silently take out spirit stones to replenish it.

After a long while, Ji You drew his longsword from a low peak, his blood surging, and leaped down.

Immediately, the sword hummed.

Despite having witnessed it many times, the two women were still amazed by their son-in-law's every move, and now they stared intently down below.

Amidst the fierce sword cries, facing the sudden surge of murderous aura, the white-clad figure slashed down with his sword, his momentum overwhelming, and with a whoosh, he fiercely cleaved one of the figures at the bottom of the valley away.

As his sword fell, a sharp claw appeared within the shockwave, whistling and slicing through the air.

Just as the sharp claws were about to sever his throat, he was suddenly caught in mid-air by an arm, and a sound of bones cracking rang out.

Ding Yao was engrossed in reading when she suddenly heard Zhuo Wanqiu yawn. She couldn't help but turn to look at her and ask, "Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Zhuo Wanqiu's eyes suddenly turned strange: "Did Senior Sister Ding sleep well last night?"

"Actually... I slept quite well."

"Did you sleep well, or did you have a good dream?"

"?"

Zhuo Wanqiu couldn't help but glance at Ji You in the valley: "After Senior Sister Ding went to sleep yesterday, she started calling for the young master..."

Upon hearing this, Ding Yao's eyes widened.

She is the type of person who sleeps very lightly when she is away from her own bed, especially since the environment in the mountains and forests is not suitable for resting, so she has many dreams.

Last night's dream was indeed somewhat presumptuous, so much so that she hurriedly found a cave to change her clothes and dress as soon as she got up this morning.

Fortunately, no one would know about her dream, so she wasn't too alarmed.

But she really didn't expect to be scolded; she had talked in her sleep last night...

At this moment, Ding Yao suddenly remembered the strange look Ji You had given her and immediately said, "He probably got used to calling me 'Young Master' these past few days and couldn't help but mutter it a few times in his sleep."

Zhuo Wanqiu glanced at her: "But you started calling him 'brother' as you were calling him..."

"?"

"The appraiser hasn't even called me 'brother' yet, but Senior Sister Ding has already done it."

The scene from last night instantly flashed through Zhuo Wanqiu's mind.

She noticed that her usually aloof senior sister Ding kept calling for her brother, and she immediately became afraid to sleep, worried that she would also be called out if she fell asleep. As a result, she managed to stay awake all night.

Ding Yao naturally denied it and seriously told Zhuo Wanqiu that she had called someone else.

Zhuo Wanqiu didn't believe it at all, but she felt that if the appraiser couldn't hold on, Senior Sister Ding might be able to share the burden.

Just then, the sounds of battle in the valley gradually subsided.

Ji You killed two more members of the Bu family and then gracefully leaped onto the cliff.

Those he killed on the outskirts of Dongping Mountain were mostly at the Fusion Realm. Even though their physical bodies were incredibly strong, they posed no difficulty for him.

However, the opponents we encountered today are clearly stronger than those we faced before.

He sheathed his longsword, his surging divine sense rushing towards the distance, and couldn't help but look at the two women: "The people from the Seven Great Immortal Sects are coming, let's go first."

Zhuo Wanqiu and Ding Yao immediately bowed and said, "Yes."

The two women followed him away, constantly moving through the mountains and forests.

During this time, Ji You drew his sword again and killed two more members of the Bu family. He didn't stop until the night was deep, when he stopped on a cliff.

There were very few tally marks left on the paper, which made Ji You feel a little more at ease.

Meanwhile, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu had already cleared the snow off the cliff before lighting a campfire.

However, even after dinner, neither Ding Yao nor Zhuo Wanqiu showed any sign of wanting to sleep.

"Junior Sister Zhuo has been staying up for two days, go to sleep first."

"Let Senior Sister Ding go instead..."

"I...I'll meditate."

Zhuo Wanqiu turned to look at Ji You and asked, "Isn't the young master going to sleep yet?"

Ji You glanced at her: "I'm not going to sleep. Boys need to protect themselves when they're out."

"?"

Sunrise and sunset, the stars and moon revolve.

A mountain mist rose from the dense forest, and within this mist, countless figures brimming with spiritual energy flew past.

At the same time, countless elders with names and surnames floated in the air above, their sharp eyes constantly sweeping across the depths of the mountains. Then, with a light touch of their toes, they vanished swiftly between the dark mountain ridges.

The number of cultivators in the mountains and forests is becoming increasingly dense.

This wasn't because more people had arrived, but because cultivators from different immortal sects, though operating independently, were actually working together to shrink the encirclement area.

In their view, as long as they were surrounded, even if it was a little slow, these rats hiding in the mountains would surely be caught.

This is actually why Ji You wants to speed things up.

As the encirclement shrinks, the divine senses of those cultivators become increasingly useful.

In fact, since he entered the heart of the mountains, he had almost been detected by other people's divine senses several times.

On another occasion, it was clear that someone had sensed the aftershocks of the battle with their divine sense and pursued them.

If it weren't for his incredible strength, he might have been surrounded by cultivators before he even killed the Bu family members.

It's not that he's afraid of encountering other people, but if he does, he'll definitely be interfered with and hindered when he's killing someone.

Ji You vaguely began to feel that her next move might be to snatch someone away from someone else.

Most importantly, the Bu family members are not dead.

Although they can transform into evil species, they are not truly fearless evil species.

In his view, as the Immortal Sect gradually closes in with its mountain-encircling search, the Bu family will not sit idly by and will likely take action first.

In other words, the further he goes, the more difficult it will be for him to make a move.

He wasn't the only one who felt worried; the powerful figures from the Immortal Sect also shared this concern.

On several occasions, they had identified the Bu family members, but upon arriving at their location, they found only corpses.

One, two, three...

The elders of the various immortal sects' expressions gradually changed, thinking to themselves that something was definitely not right.

They didn't know how the beheader found the Bu family members, but they discovered that the Bu family, who had fled into the mountains, were almost all together!
"it's wired."

"What's weird?"

"There are no money bags, but the strings that tie them are still there, and every single one of them is like that."

"?"

Some people encounter corpses, while others encounter acquaintances.

As the search area shrank, many old acquaintances were encountered by chance.

Just like in a valley on the south side called Eagle Fall Gorge, people who meet there by chance discover that they all know each other.

Such as Jiang Chenfeng, Jiang Yan, and Tu Ri from the Dao Asking Sect, Huo Hong (the illegitimate son of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion), his junior brother Lu Dacheng, his junior sister Jiang Yuerou, Yan Qiubai and Xie Chenyu from the Spirit Sword Mountain, and Chu Butian from the Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion.

They had once been sent as envoys to the Snow Region Demon Clan together. Although they each had their own purposes, they had shared life and death experiences, especially after the demon clan's night raid, which forged a bond between them.

So, this chance encounter naturally led to some pleasantries.

"Brother Jiang has not yet broken through to the next realm?"

"I gained a lot from the Holy Land of the Sages. If it weren't for the matter of the Evil Seed, I might have already broken through the threshold of the Yingtian Realm in seclusion. But it's good this way. I can go into seclusion after I get the pills from the Pill Sect. Maybe it will be easier."

"The sacred land of the ancient sages is truly mysterious. However, I have heard that Ji You has not yet broken through to the next realm. Is this true?"

"What you see with your own eyes is naturally true."

"I never expected it to turn out like this. Back in the snowy region, in the Heavenly Dao Society, I thought he could be ranked alongside us. It's truly heartbreaking."

The Chen Clan suffered heavy losses and for some reason did not send anyone to the Snow Region, so only a few people from the Heavenly Academy are missing here.

There's a basic principle to getting together: whoever's not there, we'll talk about crickets, and Ji You is, of course, the best topic of conversation.

His failure to break through the barrier is indeed regrettable, yet it also brings a sense of relief.

Amidst the laughter and chatter, Jiang Chenfeng kept a close eye on Huo Hong, who was simply standing there without making a sound.

This was the second time he had seen Huo Hong since entering Dongping Mountain, but he found Huo Hong's behavior strange. Huo Hong was usually a very talkative person, but he remained silent during these two encounters.

It's not that he doesn't like to talk, but rather that he seems to be preoccupied with something.

Jiang Chenfeng had been paying attention for a long time and noticed that people often came looking for him, whispering in his ear as if some message was being passed on...

(End of this chapter)