Chapter 75: Chapter 75: This Jianghu... Unfathomably Deep (Five Updates)
Behind the tea stall was a grassy hillside dotted with a few gnarly trees, their canopies far from lush.
But at present, the entire hillside was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Dozens of corpses were strewn haphazardly across the hillside, where several fierce-looking large dogs ran back and forth among the bodies, snatching up items of value and carrying them back to the Elder in Hemp Clothes.
At the Elder’s feet, the White-haired Protector’s corpse had been stripped bare, one of his arms already severed. On the chopping block, the old man was mincing that very severed hand from the White-haired Protector.
The pungent smell of blood had long permeated the air. Xu Nian and his team had already smelled it, but none of them spoke up to ask about it.
Not long after, Xu Nian set his teacup down, pulled out a few pieces of silver from his bosom, placed them on the table, and after a respectful salute towards the curtain, he stood up to lead his horse. Junlin and his team hurriedly followed.
They wanted to talk with the old man and see if they could trigger a Hidden Task, but Xu Nian signaled for them not to act rashly.
While leading the horse, Xu Nian glanced over at the hillside and saw the corpses of the Blood Demon Sect Followers. A few of the fierce dogs seemed to sense something and turned their heads to look at Xu Nian.
The old man grunted loudly, saying, "That’s too much, too much. A pot of tea isn’t that expensive."
"It’s not too much; the tea tastes good and is worth this price," Xu Nian said, then mounted his horse and continued along the Official Road, with five horses following closely behind him.
When the sound of the hooves had completely vanished, the old man slowly raised his head.
"Profound Yellow Sect? Interesting, interesting indeed. Such a young man already a First-Grade Martial Artist, and the remaining five not much inferior. When did this sect appear in the Jianghu?" the old man muttered to himself.
After cresting another hill, Xu Nian was sure it was safe, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Turning back to Junlin and his team, he said, "That old man just now is not simple; many Blood Demon Sect disciples who fled from Fengxiang Prefecture City died at his hands. The hillside below is full of their corpses. This is your first venture in the Jianghu; you must know that human hearts are unpredictable. Whatever you do, think thrice before you act. This Jianghu... is unfathomable!"
Junlin and the others nodded outwardly, but in their hearts, they couldn’t have cared less. They were just playing a game, after all, why bother with such grand principles? These principles were of no everyday use to them either. Is the Damn Game Designer forcing players to experience the storyline?
"Sect Leader, have you heard of that old man?" Under the Phoenix Tree asked curiously.
The others also looked over. Xu Nian rolled his eyes inwardly. He didn’t know much about the Jianghu; how could he possibly have heard of that old man’s name before?
"I’m not sure, but the Blood Demoness might know a thing or two," Xu Nian said. "When we return from Celestial Origin Mansion, we’ll ask the Blood Demoness then. It’s also time to expand our sect and recruit a new batch of disciples. The locations at the Back Mountain and Black Wind Stronghold are still suitable. Let’s prepare to recruit new disciples when we return."
After speaking, he urged his horse with his legs and cried out, "Giddy-up!" The horse raced off.
Junlin and his team already knew about the Second Test, so they weren’t too shocked and rode along.
Undeniably, the ability to perfectly experience horse riding in the game had them thoroughly enthralled. Looking at other online games, which one could achieve this? None! Which one makes grinding feel this effortless? None! This groundbreaking game allowed them to participate in a non-deletion Internal Test, which was already very fortunate. Those who initially doubted them and claimed they would never play the game are probably regretting it immensely now.
「Celestial Origin Mansion.」
The Nine Heavens Alliance was considered a top-tier Jianghu power within Celestial Origin Mansion, formed by a coalition of nine major forces, similar to the Thirteen Strongholds of Fengxiang Prefecture. But its strength far surpassed that of the Thirteen Strongholds.
The Alliance Leader of the Nine Heavens was Cui Shengshu. He favored wearing Confucian cyan robes and excelled in swordsmanship. His worn sword was a rare blood-red blade known throughout the Jianghu as Cyan Shirt Blood Sword. He had already reached the Grandmaster Realm. In the entire Jianghu, he was considered a formidable expert.
There was a ranking of the top ten masters in the world, all selected by the people of the Jianghu. This Cui Shengshu was ranked eleventh! It might sound somewhat unimpressive, but how many masters were there in the world? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? That Cui Shengshu could rank eleventh was already far superior to many experts in the Jianghu. Any of the top ten could cause a sensation in the Jianghu. The Brocade Guard Inspector, the Sect Leader of the Celestial One Daoist Sect, the Chief Imperial Steward of the Great Qian Dynasty Cao Zhisheng, the Zen Heart Temple Abbot Living Up to the Tathagata... Each of these individuals was a renowned figure in the Jianghu. The Alliance Leader of the Nine Heavens was comparable to such figures. How could he possibly be weaker than others? The current standing of the Nine Heavens Alliance was largely due to this leader.
At this moment, Cui Shengshu was sitting by the lakeside of a villa occupied by the Nine Heavens Alliance, leisurely fishing. A man dressed as a butler rushed in, his expression urgent, holding a newly arrived message. "Leader, news from Fengxiang Prefecture."
The butler handed the message to Cui Shengshu. Cui Shengshu’s expression remained calm, his gaze fixed on the floating bobber in the lake, as if completely ignoring the message. Only after the bobber twitched a few times did he firmly grip the fishing rod and yank it up sharply.
A golden-scaled koi was hooked.
"News from Fengxiang Prefecture?" Cui Shengshu placed the koi into a basket beside him, cast another line, and smiled, asking, "Could it be that the Blood Demon Sect has completely conquered Fengxiang Prefecture? Are they officially at war with the Imperial Court now?"
"No, the Blood Demon Sect members encountered opponents within Fengxiang Prefecture City. Several Protectors appeared there; except for the White-haired Protector, all the others died," the butler replied softly. "Furthermore, they suffered a Celestial Punishment. Someone saw thunderbolts striking from a clear sky. The Blood Demon Sect members claimed it was divine punishment, and they all fled Fengxiang Prefecture. Tens of thousands of disciples chose to leave the Blood Demon Sect, which is now significantly weakened."
Hmm? Celestial Punishment? What is that all about?
Cui Shengshu chuckled lightly, stroked his mustache, and said, "The Blood Demon Sect encountered resistance in Fengxiang Prefecture? Which of the Jianghu sects took action?"
"The local sect of Fengxiang Prefecture, called the Profound Yellow Sect," the butler explained. "This Profound Yellow Sect has risen recently. It seems to have only a little over a hundred members, but it is overseen by a Grandmaster, and even the Merciful Temple has acknowledged them."
Cui Shengshu nodded slightly, not saying much more. The Blood Demon Sect was considered a scourge of the Jianghu. Now that they had encountered a tough adversary and lost so many members, they were truly becoming universally condemned. That Sect Leader must also be getting restless.
"The Profound Yellow Sect... indeed, it has removed a great scourge from the Jianghu," Cui Shengshu spoke softly. "Send them something. After all, they’ve eradicated a menace for the Jianghu. Though we didn’t assist, we can at least make a congratulatory gesture."