Chapter 21: Almost out

Feng Xin decided to take advantage of the calm and serene environment created by the Tupelo tree to meditate and ensure he was in his best state once the green swallows spotted Peng Zhen and the rest.

Even if the tree had already been uprooted, the effects of the tree remained. Years of it growing there had completely changed the area's environment. The Qi was gentle yet vigorous, refreshing, and energizing. The area had some sort of balance on different elements helping one further their comprehension and raising their cultivation realm.

"I really hope this case doesn't have unexpected situations. How did Peng Zhen and the rest even carry the tree out? The tree is more valuable alive than dead. They should have some treasure that is able to safely preserve it even when uprooted. But how can they afford a treasure of that level? Based on the effects that are still prevalent here, that tree is the furthest thing from ordinary much more than this sect has judged. An object that is able to sufficiently accommodate it at the very least should be at the monarch level.

But that begs the question of how they could afford a treasure of that level. Even with the high status within the sect, the whole Green Fog Swamp Sect would not be able to afford something of that grade, not unless they added the tree as part of the deal.

I truly hope I am just overthinking things." Feng Xin silently thought to himself before he cleared his mind of all distractions and started meditating with a white fog slowly enveloping him which then spread to the whole peak.

A couple of miles from the Green fog swamp sect five people could be seen moving rapidly within the forest with the green fog ahead of them getting thinner and thinner. This was a sign they were close to the edge of the Green fog region.

The five people were elderly men who looked to be in their seventies but the speed at which they moved in the forest betrayed their age. They moved like kites in the air. A cultivator in the early stages of foundation establishment would not b able to track their movements as they would appear as a blur to them. They had similar green robes with white paper talismans attached to the back of their robes. It had a dark grey glow around it.

"Dong Yanlin are you sure these talismans can really hide us even from someone from the Order."

One of the elderly men asked with some worry in his tone as he kept looking back to see if there was a pursuer hot on their tail.

"What are you worried about Elder Hao Ye? As I already explained these talismans are top-grade. They were made from sky-rank ingredients by an expert with sufficient skills in talisman making. They cost quite a steep price at the White Rose Pavilion. You should already know the reputation of the pavilion, just its strength alone matches a rank 2 sect. They have a few domain experts at the helm.

The talismans should suffice to hide us from whoever the Order sent after us. Given the rank of our sect, the case was definitely handled by an inquisitor and a judge at the core formation realm.

Even if both the judge and the inquisitor were to come after us they would have a hard time spotting us. The White rose pavilion guaranteed its quality, they even did a test against a ghost eyes owl in the core formation and it could not spot me even when standing a few inches away from me," Elder Dong Yanlin calmly replied without pausing a step in his movement.

Elder Hao Ye heaved a sigh of relief as soon as he heard that. Ghost eye owls were famous for their vision. They could see through most illusion arrays and camouflage spells. It was said they could see through even the meridians of a cultivator.

If even a spirit beast famous for its senses couldn't spot them, much less could be expected from a human in the same realm. The other elders were also visibly relieved. They may have not asked it but all shared the same worry except one elder.

That elder had a wizened face and a serene appearance. His aura was that of a still mountain that would survive through all that nature would throw at it. He had an undaunted stillness to him. This was Elder Peng Zhen, the vice sect master of the Green Fog Swamp Sect, and also Cheng Yuan's martial sibling.

He was running at the lead while Elder Hao Ye flunked his lower right, to his lower left was a sturdily built elder who had an arrogant demeanor to him, most likely built from being in a position of authority. This was Elder Jia Tingfeng who was the trainer of the core disciples of the sect before Cheng Yuan undertook that role for himself.

At the far back, more centrally to each other, there were two elders. One of them looked younger than the rest. He had a few white strands in his hair that were tied at the top. He had an amiable look accompanied by a small soft smile. This was Elder Dong Yanlin, the outer sect deacon. To his left was a slim-built elder who had a serious look on his face. He had an air of meticulousness and order to him. This was Elder Gui Bingwen, the vice head of the disciplinary hall.

These five were currently about to make their way out of the Green Fog region as the famous green fog was getting thinner and thinner with the trees and vines also reducing in numbers.

"I really wish I could see Cheng Yuan's face when he finds the treasury emptied and the tree he values so much than even his life, stolen. He would likely end up coughing blood and die from frustration. Serves him right for all that shame he put us through. How dare he promote those wet behind-the-ear children to the same level as us? Reducing our resources, and shrinking our authority and responsibilities all for the sake of those upstarts.

We were the ones who supported the sect with our lives on the line every day during those tumultuous times when spirit beasts would ravage the sect or the attacks from other sects or vagrant cultivators aiming for the Tupelo tree. And he has the nerve to use the excuse of letting us rest so he could put us out to pasture. Cheng Yuan if I were in the core formation realm, I would deal with you myself. The sect you dearly love getting cleaned out is too light a punishment," Elder Jia Tingfeng said with a venomous look on his face as he clenched his fists in anger.

"That hypocritical failure of a sect master deserves what he is getting and more. He dared reduce the support needed for my alchemy experiments claiming poison research isn't what was needed by the sect at the moment.

Has he forgotten where the sect is and the deaths we suffered before the illusory and protection array formation was set up?

The number of elders and disciples who died of poison was astronomical. To truly cement our position in the swamp we also needed a potent poison of our own to be able to fight back, especially against those false kings and their underlings.

The other elders of the alchemy hall agreed with my view but they quickly turned into sycophants and licked the boots of Cheng Yuan. Not one of them had the spine to stand against him. Even that old geezer Hu Qiu had the nerve to say I've lost the true spirit of alchemy and would never improve my dao in alchemy. Hehehe who is passed out at the moment because of the fruits of my research?" Elder Hao Ye mockingly laughed with a ferocious glint flashing in his eyes.

"Peng Zhen, you should have let me just kill them with the original version. Leaving them alive seems like a waste," said Elder Hao Ye said with dissatisfaction evident in his tone.

Peng Zhen had altered his original recipe and made one that will make them pass out and stagnate their qi flow instead of the original one that would knock them out and slowly corrode their qi, then their meridians, and finally their internal organs. They would be liquefied from the inside.

Hao Ye made that poison from inspiration he had based on the abilities of a red glyph spider. The spider was completely black except for a single red glyph on its abdomen. The spider would spray out a web that would be enhanced by the red glyph on its back. The web would seal and paralyze its victims. Once a victim was caught in the web they would be drained of all their qi, with the qi of the spider slowly invading the victim to replace the drained-out qi via the webs.

The pain was so excruciating that it would leave one screaming up until the body was completely invaded. It was a slow and gruesome process. The spider would then either happily devour the victim little by little whilst the victim was still alive, though barely or they would use the body of the victim as an incubator for its eggs. Which would later after much nourishment hatch and devour what's left of the victim from the inside. It was a truly sadistic creature that most who end up in its snares would rather self-detonate than await what was to come.

Hao Ye was deeply fascinated by this creature and used its abilities as a subject for his poison research.

"I may have betrayed the sect for my own selfish interest to further my cultivation but I will not pull it further down the abyss. I know It is rather hypocritical of me to say this after what I have done, but I owe the sect a lot and I will not have it completely destroyed by my hands. Some part of me still wishes to see it flourish.

Hao Ye don't forget all you have was given to you by the sect. It's okay to have misgivings about Cheng Yuan but the sect as a whole has nothing to do with it. Besides, if we completely massacred the sect as you wish, the Order would bring down its full force on us. I doubt even the means of Dong Yanlin would be able to protect us from it," Peng Zhen softly said as he maintained his sights ahead.

Hao Ye could only grunt in displeasure as a glint of hatred flashed through his eyes as he stared at Peng Zhen's back.

Dong Yanlin at the back noticed Hao Ye's look as he still had on his polite smile with no one telling what was running through his mind.

The group was a few meters away from coming out of the Green fog region. The bright rays of sunshine had even started to seep through. An excited expression appeared on the faces of some of the elders. They were this close to making their escape. Making their way through the swamp was an extremely tense moment for them. The tension and fear came from both the Order and the spirit beasts of the Green Fog region. 

Having lived in the swamp for centuries they knew how fearsome the beasts in this place were. They were more afraid of the beasts here than the inquisitor. At least with the inquisitor, they could surrender but with a spirit beast being eaten was their only result. Human cultivators were an enormous boon towards the cultivation improvement of a spirit beast. The stronger the human cultivator they consumed, the better the result.

"Make sure to keep your guard up, it's not a time to relax," Peng Zhen warned as he saw the relaxed attitude of the elders.

"Dong Yanlin is your person going to make it in time. If he delays we will be done," Elder Gui Bingwen who had been silent all this time suddenly asked.

Of the other elders here he is the one who has known Peng Zhen and Cheng Yuan the longest. It was rather odd to see him betray the sect as he was known for being straight-laced and inflexible. He abided by and enforced the sect's regulations to the letter.

Hao Ye assumed he did it to get a chance to break through to the core formation realm as his life limit as a foundation stage expert was almost up. Foundation stage members had a life span of 1000 years and Gui Bingwen was around 900 years closer to that limit.

"Don't worry, he'll arrive on time. He has a deep interest in the Tupelo tree. He will reward you all handsomely once all this is done. His referral will also make it a sure in for all of you to be accepted in the Jade autumn sect," Dong Yanlin softly answered as he patted a leopard skin pouch with a green glow at his waistline with a satisfied expression appearing on his face.