The News of the Sect Leader’s Death
Finally, no one raised the bid any further. 70 2nd-grade spirit stones; removing the 3% commission paid to the auction house, Qi Xiu would still get 68, which was enough.
Qi Xiu had no intention of staying any longer.
When the bidding for the pill that could boost the cultivation of Foundation Establishment cultivators started, the atmosphere heated up again. The shouts of the bidders from the private boxes rose and fell, and the cultivators on the first floor were all focused on the stage.
Qi Xiu seized this moment to quietly leave the hall.
After collecting the spirit stones for the auction, Qi Xiu rushed back to his residence. The night passed uneventfully, and early the next morning, he went and exchanged them for a [Foundation Establishment Pill].
There were still over 200 scattered 1st-grade spirit stones left, all of which he kept in his [Storage Pouch].
Qi Xiu had already planned his route back to the sect. First, he walked along the main road in the direction he came from, but after a short distance, he suddenly turned back and reentered the Clear River Market.
Only when he was sure that no one was following him did he change direction and quickly walked along the riverbank. Soon, he arrived at a ferry used by mortals and paid to board a passenger ship heading to a nearby mortal city.
Most of the passengers on the ship were farmers and merchants heading to a market. The farmers chatted about the weather and crop prices, while the merchants loudly discussed city goods and brothel prices. It was very noisy.
Before boarding the ship, Qi Xiu had secretly changed into the ordinary attire of a mortal aristocrat. As soon as the dignified Qi Xiu entered the cabin, both the farmers and merchants quickly stood up to salute him. Then, they respectfully gave up the best seat to Qi Xiu and turned back to continue their previous topic.
The cabin became lively again.
The Qi Yun Sect and its surroundings were all under Daoist rule. Though they followed the Clans' Rules and Regulations system, they required that nobles and commoners "never interact for their entire lives."
It was common for commoners to have never seen what their lord looks like in their entire lifetime, so they were not that afraid.
The journey would take three days and two nights. Qi Xiu reached into his robe, feeling the small bottle containing the [Foundation Establishment Pill] in the now empty [Storage Bag]. He checked to make sure the talisman sealing the bottle was intact.
Though the [Foundation Establishment Pill] was technically a top-tier 1st-grade pill, it couldn't be made by Qi Condensation alchemists and required spirit herbs of a certain age, making it roughly equal in value to a mid-tier 2nd-grade magical item.
Of course, prices of magical items vary greatly. For instance, yesterday's top-tier 1st-grade flying sword was more expensive than some low-tier 2nd-tier flying swords. This was partly due to inflated auction prices and whether the itemt's characteristics appealed to the buyers.
It took twenty days in total. I hope Master hasn't been too anxious…
Qi Xiu got lost in his own worries as he stared out the carriage window.
The early summer plains were lush and green, and the carriage smoothly rolled along, fields swiftly passing by the window.
Soon, they entered the domain of the Qi Yun Sect.
Qi Yun Sect was a super sect with Nascent Soul level cultivators. Its marquis helped manage the mortals under its domain — from nobles to commoners. At the same time, he used the power of the mortals to collect cultivation materials, discover talented people with cultivation potential, and so on.
To most commoners, they were unaware of the Qi Yun sect; they only knew of the Qi Yun Kingdom, or more precisely—the Qi Yun Marquisate.
The Qi Yun Marquisate was huge, and the Chu Qin Sect was just a corner of it. Most of its land was plains, great for farming. The Daoist sect believed in governing through inaction, so you'll see fields and villages all around, air filled with sound chickens and barking of dogs.
It looked very peaceful and prosperous.
"Commoners live like ants, content and busy; Cultivators are like wolves..."
Originally, Qi Xiu wanted to compose a poem to sing about the mortals' customs, but the third line went astray, and he couldn't continue with the fourth, losing all his mood all of a sudden.
Forget it, us Daoists better not try our hand at that Confucian sour words stuff anyway.
Qi Xiu closed the window and simply decided to sleep inside.
Traveling day and night, with occasional stops, the carriage gradually approached the monastery gate of Chu Qin Sect.
Once past Chu Qin Town, the coachman no longer knew the way, so Qi Xiu had to guide him.
Originally, Qi Xiu had planned to change into mortal clothes and sneak into the sect through a small path once they reached Chu Qin Town. However, after making some inquiries in Chu Qin Town, he had found that several sects had set up camps directly outside the sect's monastery gate.
A few Foundation Establishment cultivators had even entered the gate.
Qi Xiu racked his brains but couldn't think of any way to bypass the monastery gate and enter the Chu Qin Mountains. It seemed impossible to sneak in under these circumstances.
Faced with no other options, he decided to change back into the red Daoist robe of the Chu Qin Sect. Taking a bold approach, he sat casually in the carriage and headed straight for the monastery gate.
"Stop!"
Sure enough, just as they were about to reach Chu Qin Mountain, the carriage was blocked by several cultivators standing in the middle of the road.
Qi Xiu poked his head out and saw that they were all wearing various Daoist robes; a sigh of relief escaped his mouth.
He wasn't just blindly jumping into their hands; he had thought this through.
Between Daoist sects, there's usually a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect. After all, they all belong to the Qi Yun sect, and serious fights, especially those that end in death, were typically frowned upon.
Besides, now that these people were openly trying to take over Chu Qin Sect, they wouldn't just kill off the lower-level disciples.
After all, cultivators themselves were a valuable resource in the world of cultivation.
Given this, Qi Xiu had seen an opportunity.
No one knew he had the valuable [Foundation Establishment Pill] on him. If he got caught secretly, they might search him, and he'd lose the item for sure.
But if he walked openly along the main road in broad daylight, and with the other side being a coalition of several sects — could not keep secrets from each other — these Daoist cultivators, who prided themselves on being righteous, were unlikely to openly seize his belongings.
Qi Xiu glanced at the three cultivators, two women and one man, all wearing different styles of robes; they shouldn't be from the same sect. He felt several spiritual forces sweeping over him; their cultivation levels were all higher than his own.
Forcing himself to stay calm, he slowly got off the carriage, settled accounts with the coachman and sent him on his way. Then, he calmly turned around, stepped forward, and saluted the three cultivators. I am Qi Xiu from Chu Qin Sect. May I ask what business brings you here, fellow Daoists?'"
One of the female cultivators laughed. "Are you really stupid or just pretending not to know?"
She was dressed as a Daoist nun, wearing an ivory-colored Daoist robe with lotus flowers embroidered on the hem. She looked about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a crisp voice, a small round face that turned rosy when she laughed, and a well-endowed chest.
Though not particularly beautiful, she exuded a strong youthful aura.
"Know what?" Qi Xiu tried to look innocent and clueless, but given his age and poor acting skills, he was clearly overdoing it.
The oldest, a middle-aged male cultivator, saw through his act. Without a word, he brought forth a dust whisk magical tool and swept it down overhead, binding Qi Xiu. "You lazy old fool," he shouted sternly. "Pretending at your age! Speak! What are you doing heading to the Chu Qin Sect at a time like this?"
Qi Xiu hadn't expected them to act this quickly after just these few words. Of course, he had known he couldn't resist that man's attack, and now he ended up on the ground, tied up like a dumpling.
With no other choice, he had to stand his ground. "I am a disciple of Chu Qin Sect," he yelled out. "Returning to my sect is perfectly justified! But you guys attacking fellow cultivators in broad daylight, are you planning to kill and rob me!?"
"Psh! Look at yourself, thinking you got something we'd wanna snatch!"
Another female cultivator stepped forward, spat on the ground, and pointed angrily, "Let me tell you straight, our Drifting Cloud Sect, Lotus Flower Temple, and Huang Zuo Zhan Family have agreed to wipe out your Chu Qin Sect! If you don't want to end up as a wandering cultivator, you better come clean!"
Then she started kicking Qi Xiu on the ground fiercely, showing no mercy.
Qi Xiu felt his breath stuck in his chest, extremely frustrated. No one had ever made him suffer such humiliation before, stirring up a fierce determination in him. But…he made up his mind and simply turned his head away, not saying a word.
The sect is weak, cannot protect its disciples. Our disciples are incompetent, and cannot revive the sect. That's why we face this humiliation today! Qi Xiu thought with bitterness.
"Hmph, playing dead?" the cultivator said. "You bastard are…"
Before he could say more, a signal arrow shot into the sky from the direction of Chu Qin Mountain accompanied by a piercing whistle.
The three disciples looked up at the sky and the anticipation filling their faces.
Two more sharp whistles sounded.
"Three sounds, that old bastard is finally dead!" The feisty female cultivator screamed with joy.
The round-faced female cultivator also looked relieved. "Thank heaven! No more guarding this place every day! It's like being in prison!"
The middle-aged male cultivator pointed a finger, and the whisk that was binding Qi Xiu flew back to him. "Since the old bastard is dead, let's hurry to the main hall of Chu Qin Sect!"
Without waiting for anyone, he threw out a shuttle-shaped flying item and flew away.
"Damn, he took the lead!"
As soon as the middle-aged monk took off, the two female cultivators lost interest in Qi Xiu lying there. One summoned a lotus leaf magical item, while the other called out a white cloud-shaped item. They sat on them and flew away.
The restraints on Qi Xiu's body were gone, but he couldn't get up from the ground.
"The old bastard is dead... the old bastard is dead..."
The words of those cultivators kept echoing in his ears, leaving him stunned like a stone.
Just like that, a short while passed.
Finally, his eyeballs slightly rolled, his body moved a bit, and he coughed up a few mouthfuls of bright blood.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
"Master!!"
With a heart-wrenching scream, tears gushed out. He got up and started running madly towards Chu Qin Mountain.
Qi Xiu spent his entire childhood and youth on Mount Chu Qin. Every blade of grass and tree in front of him was incredibly familiar. He could run to the top of the mountain even with his eyes closed.
Soon, he reached the foot of the main peak.
The whole mountain's protective formation and the main peak's illusion array did not show up.
The rich spiritual energy of Chu Qin Peak, so dense that it appeared like fog, floated around, completely exposed.
From the peak, Qi Xiu could hear loud shouts and the clashing sounds of magical items.
Using both his hands and feet, Qi Xiu quickly climbed to the top.
The peak was crowded with people, and the ground was a complete mess. No one paid any attention to him — a cultivator at the bottom of the Qi Condensation level.
Sounds of fighting were coming from the back mountain.
At the peak, he saw many familiar and unfamiliar fellow disciples, along with the invading cultivators from the three sects, hurriedly going in and out of various buildings.
"Where's Master?" he grabbed a familiar fellow disciple and asked.
"Oh, you're Qi... Master, he... Ah! He's in the Western Hall," the disciple replied with a guilty expression.
Qi Xiu quickly ran to the West Side Hall. As soon as he entered, he saw Master Qi lying on the cold ground, a yellow paper covering his face, completely lifeless.