Sect Leader Is Under Great Pressure CH 103 One Wave Has Not Subsided, Another Wave Rises
The young man, dragged out by Feng Qingxiu, practically fell to his knees. After much effort in calming him down, he finally managed to send him on his way.
Then Feng Qingxiu handed his master a storage pouch.
It was the most standard cultivator's storage pouch from Kun-Lai, made with the Qiankun Brocade from Yuzhi Peak. When opened, its mouth was one meter wide, but when unused, it could be tightened and hung conveniently at the waist.
Ji Yunlai rejected the pouch, offering a well-reasoned explanation: “If I use this, Xiao Qing, I fear even you wouldn’t be able to stand it.”
After all, he was the head of the sect. If he were to use anything, it should be a storage ring or bracelet, something more fitting of his status.
Feng Qingxiu imagined his master carrying around the pouch, catching little frogs—no, catching monsters—and was instantly struck by the absurdity. In the end, he had no choice but to continue enduring his master's habit of casually tossing items into his pouch.
His master only picked valuable items, and at an incredible speed, which prompted Feng Qingxiu to whisper, “Master, if you grab everything, the ordinary disciples will cry. It’s not easy for them either...”
Ji Yunlai felt his disciple’s words made some sense, so he toyed with the items for a while before throwing them over to the other disciples nearby.
By the end of the day, nearly every disciple had reaped great rewards and was beaming with joy, clearly thrilled.
Around thirty disciples had fallen into the Abyss during the day, but Ji Yunlai had pulled them all out, proving just how dangerous this part of the Outlands truly was.
Nearly a hundred disciples were seriously injured. The creatures here were not easy to deal with, and despite teamwork and assistance, losses were inevitable.
The healers from Qingnu Peak were short on hands, so they called for help from the disciples of Poison Peak and Pill Peak. They even hired a few temporary workers from Yuzhi Peak to administer acupuncture as requested.
Thus, the wails and cries on Zhuiyun Peak began to fill the air once again, making it sound like a haunted place.
After counting the disciples, the flying peaks rose again, moving along the Abyss to find the next area dense with spiritual creatures.
Feng Qingxiu took stock of his gains. By now, he no longer marveled at the amount of wealth he’d acquired—following his master, money was simply no longer a concern.
At that moment, Deputy Peak Master You approached to trade for some of the Xuanyang Fish he had collected.
This was Feng Qingxiu’s first time seeing Deputy Peak Master You in human form. He looked strikingly similar to You Jia, with a coldly handsome face, but there was an added maturity and calm that made his charm overwhelming. You would never guess that he was at the bottom of the food chain among the peak masters. In a deep, magnetic voice, he explained that squids needed a particular substance found in these small fish, which could significantly extend their lifespan. While shrimp and sea fish contained trace amounts, a single one of these Xuanyang Fish had enough to last him a hundred years of feasting on sea fish.
Feng Qingxiu gave him the fish.
In exchange, Deputy Peak Master You left behind three tentacles.
Each one was as thick as a barrel and 30 meters long. No pot was big enough to cook them.
But that clearly wasn’t an issue.
Soon enough, people flocked to his flying peak, and he practically sold the squid tentacles by weight.
Before long, the entire peak was filled with the aroma of grilled squid, sizzled squid, spicy squid, and other delicious dishes.
When Senior Brother Yang came to buy some squid tentacle, he also gave Feng Qingxiu a bag of seasoning and a jar of fine wine, saying that the wine was the perfect pairing for squid tentacles.
Ji Yunlai, feeling a bit nostalgic, remembered his own days of cultivation in the wilderness, when he often grilled food. So, summoning some true spiritual fire in his hand, he pulled his apprentice into the courtyard to start grilling squid skewers.
Soon, both master and apprentice had large squid skewers in hand, enjoying a few sips of wine in the courtyard, eating quite a bit.
It was incredibly delicious, far surpassing the tentacles of You Jia.
The wine was called Five-Grain Wine, brewed from five types of spiritual rice. It had a long finish and a rich, fragrant taste. Ji Yunlai didn’t get drunk, being only a fragment of spiritual consciousness, but to his surprise, Xiao Qing, after only a few cups, declared himself down for the count.
Ji Yunlai realized then that his little apprentice, who had been at Kun-Lai since he was young and had worked so diligently to reach his current cultivation level, likely hadn’t had much experience drinking. It made perfect sense for him to have a low tolerance.
So, he walked over, lifted his apprentice, and carried him back to his room.
As he tucked him in, his apprentice suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm, refusing to let go.
Ji Yunlai froze for a moment, as if something stirred in his memory, but then it vanished.
He gently stroked his apprentice’s flawless profile. His long eyelashes cast thick shadows in the moonlight, and his expression was relaxed and content, as though he were dreaming of something pleasant. His usual stern seriousness was nowhere to be seen, replaced entirely with a faint smile.
A subtle sense of satisfaction rose within Ji Yunlai’s heart, spreading like ripples across his chest.
It felt as though some long-held regret had been completely and utterly fulfilled in that instant.
He couldn’t help but smile softly.
What should he do? It seemed he was growing more and more fond of Xiao Qing.
***
The next morning, when Feng Qingxiu woke up, he saw his master sitting at the bedside.
And his own hand tightly clutching his master’s.
Oh heavens!!!!
His worldview!!!
Feng Qingxiu felt like he needed to seriously reevaluate his entire outlook.
His master, looking at Xiao Qing’s flustered expression, smiled and said, “What’s wrong? Does my apprentice not wish to see his master first thing in the morning?”
Feng Qingxiu silently turned his head, facing away from him.
Ji Yunlai first looked at his apprentice’s indifferent expression, then glanced at the apprentice's shadow, which was shyly covering its face. He smiled, tempted to tease his apprentice further, but not wanting to provoke him any more. With a soft laugh, he quietly left.
Outside the courtyard, many injured disciples were being helped back to their own peaks by their peers, while the medical cultivators from Qingnu Peak were trying hard to keep them.
"Your injury hasn’t fully healed yet, you should stay for another day of observation..." a female medical cultivator said gently.
"The bones in my body have already been set, I can still walk with a little help. You stay busy, I won’t trouble you anymore," said the sword cultivator, who was covered head to toe in bandages, as he practically flew away. "If I stay any longer, I’ll end up with heart demons!"
"What kind of cultivator doesn't have heart demons?" the female medical cultivator grumbled, but the injured cultivators passing by seemed to have a completely different idea. Anyone who could still breathe, even those barely just back from the brink of death, crawled away if they had to.
The female medical cultivator sighed and said to the captive beside her, "At least you are better, you won’t leave us... they’re all cowards!"
The captive was silent for a moment before nodding faintly in agreement. "Indeed, cowards, all of them."
"Your hand has turned to stone quite severely. I’ll have to get Madam Guan to take a look. That brat from Poison Peak—honestly, if she can’t cure it, what’s she doing poisoning people with it?" The female medical cultivator led him to the courtyard of Qingnu.
"It’s my own incompetence, it has nothing to do with her," the captive said calmly, looking at his arm, which had turned to stone up to the shoulder.
Soon, Guan Yuli walked out of the room.
The female medical cultivator explained the situation, "He’s been poisoned with the petrification poison from Poison Peak, but for some reason, I haven’t been able to cure it. I’ve tried the Six Meridian Needles, Soul-Transmitting Needles, Taiyin Needles, and the Taiqing Sixty-Nine Needles, but none of them worked."
Madam Guan pricked him with a needle to sense the flow of true essence, then raised his head. "You’re not from Ziyun Dao, are you?"
"Disciple of Jietian Dao," the captive replied simply.
"Jietian Dao of the three major sects?" Guan Yuli pulled the needle out, frowning. "This is a combined issue of pill poison. I can’t handle it alone. We’ll need to consult with Qingnu, Poison Peak, and Pill Peak. How did a disciple of Jietian Dao end up in Ziyun Dao? Wait a moment—this is Nine-Colored True Essence!"
Guan Yuli suddenly looked up. "Who is Sect Leader Cheng Qiuyue of Jietian Dao to you?"
Ziyun Dao, Jietian Dao, Taiqing Sect—none of them were easy to deal with.
"My mother," the captive said.