Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 219 Everything Was Planned [Please Subscribe]

"We are truly grateful for Fellow Daoist Lu's help this time; otherwise, I don't know what kind of mess this scoundrel would have caused our Zhou family!"

In the desolate wilderness, Zhou Mingde, who arrived a little late, glanced at the corpse on the ground and the first thing he did was to thank Lu Ran for coming from afar to help.

This attitude made Lu Ran extremely satisfied.

He then smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you are too kind. I should thank the Zhou family for sharing that underground waterway, which gives me the opportunity to return to the human realm for a final look!"

To be honest, he was quite surprised when he learned of the existence of the underground waterway from Zhou Daoyi.

Although he had previously suspected that the Zhou family possessed some secret passage for safe entry and exit from the wilderness, he never expected it to be such an underground waterway.

He naturally understood how important such an underground waterway was to a cultivation family like the Zhou family.

So he agreed to help without any hesitation, and then, together with Zhou Daoyi, he personally experienced an underground journey.

"It would be a great pity to only take a look. If Fellow Daoist Lu wishes, you are welcome to come and visit anytime. Our Zhou family will make the necessary arrangements to ensure that Fellow Daoist Lu can enjoy the life of a human in peace and comfort!"

Zhou Mingde smiled slightly and said something that made Lu Ran very satisfied.

He chuckled without any further attempt to hide his laughter, saying, "Hehehe, then I guess I'll have to bother Fellow Daoist Zhou quite often from now on."

"Of course, of course!"

Zhou Mingde nodded, and then began to deal with the battlefield.

Killing the protector of the Dragon Transformation Sect is a great achievement. Given that the Zhou family has already been exposed to the Dragon Transformation Sect's sight, there is no need to deny this achievement.

However, the existence of Lu Ran and Qing Jiao cannot be revealed.

Therefore, Zhou Mingde needed to erase the auras of Lu Ran and Qingjiao, and also erase the auras of the two from the corpse of the Black Dragon Protector.

Fortunately, it was the Fire God Jackal who finally killed the Black Dragon Guardian, so the injuries made perfect sense.

As for the wounds caused by the "Crimson Dragon Dagger" on the corpse's back, they can be further damaged to make it impossible to see the specific details.

In short, the cause of death of this Black Dragon Protector was the siege by Zhou Mingde and the Fire God Jackal!

How exactly the Zhou family killed him is a secret of the Zhou family.

Even if Qinglian Temple was curious about this, they wouldn't press the issue so hard if they couldn't find more information through the corpse.

After all, which cultivation family doesn't have some secret methods?

When Zhou Mingde first fought against a cultivator of the same level in the Lanzhou cultivation world, he used an extremely rare [Heavenly Thunder Treasure Talisman] to severely injure a late-stage Purple Mansion cultivator!

After cleaning up the battlefield, Zhou Mingde said softly, "Alright, the battlefield is almost cleaned up. Next, I will take this corpse to Qinglian Temple to express my gratitude and ask for a reward, so I will not entertain Fellow Daoist Lu for now. If you want to stretch your legs, you can have Dao Yi accompany you to guide you."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ran immediately waved his hand and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you are too kind. Please go ahead and attend to your business. There is no need to worry about me."

Then the three members of the Zhou family went their separate ways.

Leaving aside how Zhou Chun handled clan affairs after returning to his family's mountain gate, and how Zhou Daoyi took Lu Ran on a journey through the mortal world.

After collecting the body and belongings of the Black Dragon Protector, Zhou Mingde led the Fire God Jackal straight to the Green Lotus Temple.

He was supposed to set off for Qinglian Temple in a few days, but now he's just leaving ahead of schedule.

Not long after, Zhou Mingde arrived at the gate of Qinglian Temple.

At this time, Daoist Mingxia was still in seclusion, trying to break through to the late stage of the Purple Mansion realm, so Zhou Mingde directly requested to pay his respects to Abbot Qingweizi.

Because he had been visiting Qinglian Temple frequently in the past two years, the disciples of Qinglian Temple who were in charge of welcoming guests knew that he was a distinguished guest of their sect, and they quickly informed him of his arrival.

Zhou Mingde was able to enter the main hall of Qinglian Temple after a short wait.

"Junior Zhou Mingde pays respects to the Abbot!"

Upon entering the main hall, Zhou Mingde immediately bowed deeply to Qing Weizi, who was seated at the head of the table.

Seeing this, Qingweizi lightly waved the whisk in her hand and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you are too kind. May I ask what brings you here today?"

"In response to your question, senior, I have two main purposes for visiting you today. Firstly, I had previously agreed with the Jiang family of Lingzhou to reach a reconciliation between the two families under the witness of the abbot!"

"Secondly, I have come to report to the Abbot about the recent attack on my Zhou family's deputy patriarch, Zhou Zhengchun, by a protector of the Hualong Sect!"

As Zhou Mingde spoke, he recounted how Zhou Chun was suddenly attacked by the Black Dragon Protector of the Hualong Sect, and how he managed to kill the Black Dragon Protector in return.

After saying that, he patted the storage bag at his waist and took out the corpse of the black dragon protector.

"That fellow's body is right here; please, Abbot, take a look!"

The corpse on the ground had already gone cold, but the residual aura of the Purple Mansion stage cultivator was still there.

With Qingweizi's keen eyesight, it was easy for her to see the traces of the "Dragon Transformation Secret Technique" cultivated to a high level on the corpse.

He quickly nodded and said, "That's right, this is indeed the corpse of a protector of the Dragon Transformation Sect!"

After saying that, he abruptly changed the subject and asked, "But why would this Dragon Transformation Sect protector suddenly attack a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Young Friend Zhou?"

Zhou Mingde had anticipated this question and immediately replied, "Senior Abbot, you are wise. When this scoundrel attacked Zheng Chun, after seeing Zheng Chun use the third-grade high-quality defensive talisman that Fellow Daoist Mingxia had given him, he accidentally let slip that the talisman was a reward he received for infiltrating the Dragon Transformation Sect."

"Therefore, both I and Zheng Chun believe that he is likely here for revenge. It must be because Zheng Chun performed too well and attracted too much attention at the Hundred Clans Assembly that the spies planted by the Dragon Transformation Sect sent the news back to the Dragon Transformation Sect, thus letting them know Zheng Chun's background!"

This guess is reasonable and entirely true.

Qingweizi also knew that the Hualong Sect had put Zhou Chun's name on their radar.

Therefore, after hearing Zhou Mingde's words, he nodded thoughtfully and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou's conjecture is reasonable. I will have someone confirm this matter."

After saying that, he stared at the already cold corpse on the ground for a while and then said, "No matter what, it is a fact that the Zhou family killed a protector of the Dragon Transformation Sect, which is a great achievement. I will reward your Zhou family accordingly."

Having said that, he looked intently at Zhou Mingde and admonished him, "However, Fellow Daoist Zhou, when you return, you must also give Zhou Xiaoyou a good talking-to, and tell him not to go out so easily in the future, lest he ruin the important affairs of our sect because of a momentary loss of chastity!"

"Yes, this junior will obey the abbot's instructions!"

Zhou Mingde respectfully accepted the order and then withdrew from the main hall.

After he left, Qingweizi looked at the body left in the hall and strode forward to conduct a detailed autopsy.

However, because Zhou Mingde had carefully processed the corpse, he couldn't discern any specific useful information. In the end, he could only shake his head and casually unleash a ball of flame to burn it to ashes.

As for the rewards and honors to be given to the Zhou family, he will naturally do so at his discretion later, but there is no need to give them to them immediately.

After leaving the main hall, Zhou Mingde did not leave the Qinglian Temple. Instead, he booked a room in the cultivation area inside the temple and stayed there for a while.

In name only, he was waiting for the mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator from the Jiang family to come and reach a reconciliation agreement with him.

But in reality, he knew very well that the mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator from the Jiang family would definitely not make it.

Sure enough, after Zhou Mingde stayed at Qinglian Temple for about seven days, Qingweizi suddenly sent someone to tell him that the mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator from the Jiang family had been ambushed by a powerful enemy on his way after leaving the family, and his fate was now unknown. Therefore, he could no longer come to reach a reconciliation agreement with him.

Upon learning of this, Zhou Mingde's eyes immediately showed an expression of utter astonishment.

Soon, as if he had just thought of something, he looked at the messenger with delight and asked, "Fellow Daoist, do you know who ambushed and killed Fellow Daoist Jiang? Could it be an enemy that the Jiang family offended in the past?"

Upon hearing his question, the Qinglian Temple disciple, who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, immediately shook his head and said, "This junior does not know. This junior is only here to deliver a message to the senior on the orders of the abbot."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingde immediately nodded and said, "I understand. Then I would like to trouble you to convey a message to the Abbot for me. Just say that regarding the reconciliation with the Jiang family, I suddenly remembered that there are still some details to be discussed. I need to return to my family and discuss them carefully with my clansmen first, so I will not disturb your family any longer!"

After saying that, he left the Qinglian Temple with a face full of joy, like a general who had won a battle, and rushed back to his family's mountain gate with a beaming smile.

This entire scene was witnessed by Qingweizi, who was secretly observing with her divine sense.

On his way back, the messenger frowned slightly and muttered to himself, "Judging from his expression, he doesn't seem to be faking it. It seems I was indeed overthinking things!"

It turned out that he had already learned detailed information and knew that the person who ambushed the mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator of the Jiang family was a Crimson Dragon Protector of the Dragon Transformation Sect.

Upon learning of this, he naturally suspected Zhou Mingde and the Zhou family, based on the idea that whoever benefited the most was the most likely suspect.

After all, if he hadn't come to Qinglian Temple for an appointment, that mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator from the Jiang family wouldn't have left the family's mountain gate alone at this time.

But then he thought that the Zhou family had just killed a protector of the Hualong Sect, and he felt that his suspicions were unreasonable.

Even for a powerful force like the Dragon Transformation Sect, there are only a handful of Dharma Protectors; they're not like cabbages that you can grab a handful of.

Even if the small Zhou family were secretly colluding with the Hualong Sect, it wouldn't be worth sacrificing the life of such a protector to help them.

Considering that the Zhou family had previously cooperated with Daoist Mingxia to kill a Black Dragon Protector, Qingweizi was not very confident in her suspicions.

Now that Zhou Mingde has suddenly learned of the Jiang family's troubles, his initial shock and subsequent joy prove that he was unaware of the matter beforehand.

Although it was possible that he had carefully disguised it, Qingweizi had no intention of investigating further.

The missing person was merely a cultivator from one of his vassal families. It was hardly worth the great effort of the Qinglian Temple's leader to investigate and uncover the truth about him, or to expend a great deal of energy to investigate another family that had just rendered meritorious service to the Qinglian Temple!

All of this was within the Zhou family's calculations.

Whether the Jiang family admits it or not, after winning a place among the top 30 families in the "Hundred Clans Conference," the Zhou family's influence at Qinglian Temple has already surpassed that of the Jiang family.

If they were Qing Weizi, they would never have made such a futile attempt to investigate the Zhou family based on a mere speculative guess, failing to distinguish between primary and secondary issues, just for the sake of a Jiang family Purple Mansion cultivator.

It should be noted that only the three core members of the Zhou family were involved in this matter from beginning to end. If Qingweizi wants to investigate this matter and find out anything, she can only start with these three people.

That would inevitably make the Zhou family feel disheartened towards Qinglian Temple and no longer want to contribute to it.

In a fit of anger, he even secretly revealed things about the Dragon Transformation Sect.

Unless Qingweizi is insane, how could she do something like this, forcing the people to rebel, for a Jiang family cultivator whose fate is unknown?

Therefore, the smile and smugness that Zhou Mingde showed when he left Qinglian Temple were indeed from the bottom of his heart.

When he returned to his family and received the letter from Lin Hongyu from Zhou Daoyi, he smiled even more broadly.

Because the mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator from the Jiang family didn't just disappear; he actually perished!

"Great! That's wonderful!"

"In that case, the Jiang family won't even have the chance to come after our Zhou family for revenge; they'll probably have to worry about us causing them trouble!"

Zhou Mingde couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh out loud, genuinely happy about the news.

"It's certainly a good thing, but this Protector Lin's strength is just too formidable!"

"She seems to be only at the mid-stage of the Purple Mansion realm!"

"To possess such cultivation level, yet be able to single-handedly kill someone of the same cultivation level, is truly astonishing!"

At this point, Zhou Chun couldn't help but show a hint of worry on her face as she said, "What if she really turns against our Zhou family in the future? Can our Zhou family control her?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingde couldn't help but glance at Zhou Daoyi.

Zhou Daoyi immediately understood his meaning and shook his head slightly.

Seeing this, Zhou Mingde could only vaguely say, "There's no need to worry too much about that. The three major sects are about to go to war with the Hualong Sect, and that woman may die in this war. Then we won't have to worry about her threat anymore."

After saying that, seemingly not wanting to give Zhou Chun a chance to ask further questions, she immediately changed the subject, saying, "Now that the external threat has been eliminated, Dao Yi, you should hurry up and go into seclusion to open your Purple Mansion. Dao Quan is still waiting for the family to avenge him!"

"I understand. I will now prepare to go into seclusion."

Zhou Daoyi nodded and readily agreed.

Second update today

(End of this chapter)