Sect Leader Is Under Great Pressure CH 104 Deep Affection Is Hard To Retain, But Mastery Of Tactics Comes Naturally
This answer caused Madam Guan's hand, which was holding the needle, to pause slightly. It wasn't out of fear of Jietian Dao. After all, that sect occupies the northeastern part of the Central Continent, which is more than a hundred thousand miles away from here. Besides, they had no qualms about capturing even the Grand Elder of Ziyun Dao, so capturing a second-generation cultivator wasn't really a big deal.
The issue was more about Jietian Dao's sect leader, Cheng Qiuyue, who, in recent years, had pursued a strategy of forming distant alliances while attacking closer rivals. Among the three high sects, she had not made any major moves against Kun-Lai. She was also known for her chivalrous reputation, acting fairly and thoroughly. In a Central Continent increasingly embroiled in conflicts due to dwindling resources, she stood as a rare example of integrity, governing her realm without the chaos and bullying found in other places.
Therefore, it didn’t seem necessary to sour relations with Jietian Dao over such a minor issue. Small private disputes were one thing, but an all-out war was something else entirely.
He reported the matter to the elders and asked the young man why he had teamed up with Ziyun Dao.
Wasn't staying alive better? Why choose the path of destruction?
The captive was silent for a moment before replying calmly, "I was merely trying to save an old acquaintance when I was injured by an formless sword energy."
Guan Yuli immediately remembered that during the previous conflict with Ziyun Dao, Senior Brother Feng Qingxiu had gravely injured a Nascent Soul cultivator with a single strike of sword energy. The injured cultivator was then sold to Qingnu Peak for a high price, where he was treated for a day. After Elder Yan agreed to give Ziyun Dao's Synthesis stage Elder Yan to Qingnu, Qingnu, being overwhelmed with work, passed the injured Nascent Soul cultivator along—was that him?
If what he said was true, then he really was unlucky.
Senior Brother Feng's formless sword energy was notoriously known for breaking through all incantations and artifacts, making it the nemesis of all spiritual artifacts.
This second-generation cultivator had likely been quite confident at the time, thinking that even if he couldn’t help much, at worst he could run and protect himself. But the moment Senior Brother Feng noticed someone lurking around the battlefield, he wouldn’t have wasted any words and would have immediately struck with his sword...
"Your name?" Guan Yuli asked.
"Luo Chi," the prisoner replied calmly.
Soon, Elder Yan arrived. The distance between flying peaks was quite short, and Kun-Lai’s elders were not ones to put on airs.
After some questioning, Elder Yan nodded and said, "Treat him well. Once he’s healed and pays his fees, he can leave."
Then he turned and left.
A cultivator with some background was nothing special. According to Kun-Lai’s rules, no exceptions were needed. After all, even though the disciples of Medicine Peak, Pill, and Poison Peak liked to stir up trouble, they never caused any deaths.
Guan Yuli instantly understood the meaning behind it and nodded, signaling that he got the message.
Medicine Peak's medical fees... they could be outrageously expensive.
The captive, naturally, overheard this. Over the past few days on the flying peak, his understanding of the world had expanded significantly. After a brief silence, he suddenly said, "I am willing to swear a heart demon oath, promising that while captured in Kun-Lai, I will harbor no thoughts of escape or resistance. May I join the unaffiliated cultivators among the expedition?"
Guan Yuli was stunned. "You’re the son of a sect leader! The high sects aren’t that poor, are they?"
Jietian Dao, being one of the three high sects, surely had its share of resources.
The captive fell silent again before finally saying, "Not exactly poor... I just refused an arranged marriage, so..."
An ancient cultivator from the Taixu Sect had predicted that he would face imprisonment this year—either a prison of love or a physical prison. After a brief internal struggle, he chose to flee to foreign lands to escape the love tribulation. A physical prison would eventually end, but a love prison could be endless.
"Who’s forcing you into marriage?" Madam Guan was a little surprised.
The captive just shook his head slightly, not wanting to discuss the matter further.
Madam Guan gave him a sympathetic look. He had witnessed firsthand the pressure of being forced into marriage. He himself, being a bamboo spirit demon, didn’t rely on pollen for reproduction, but for spirit demons like You Jia or Huang Wei, who were solitary by nature and not interested in reproducing, this was seen as heresy by beast-type spirit demon clans, who loved both eating and reproducing.
The ideological conflict between the younger and older generations of ordinary spirit demon clans was becoming an increasingly troublesome issue in Kun-Lai.
“Then you’ll have to stay in Kun-Lai for a while. The environment here won’t be as good as in your sect,” Guan Yuli said regretfully.
“No,” the captive said dismissively. “Aside from the occasional disturbances, both the spiritual energy and spiritual resources here are far superior to those in the various sects of the Central Continent.”
“The Central Continent can’t be that lacking in spiritual resources, right?” It is the most prosperous place for the human race after all, and Guan Yuli hadn’t thought of it being otherwise.
“If there were just one sect of cultivators, it would naturally be sufficient. And if it’s only the three major sects, it would still be enough,” the captive shook his head slightly, recalling the current tense situation in the Central Continent. “But with the three major sects, thirty-six middle sects, over nine thousand minor sects, and countless scattered unaffiliated cultivators, it will inevitably be lacking.”
That’s why he hadn’t gone to the other continents but had come to the Outlands to see if there were any other opportunities for breakthroughs.
“Then why not reduce the number of disciples?” Madam Guan, who grew up in Kun-Lai, was a little curious about the Central Continent. In Kun-Lai, when there isn’t enough spiritual rice and spiritual resources for the Foundation Establishment disciples, the difficulty of the outer sect exams inevitably increases, which will allow some substandard disciples to flow to smaller sects.
“Then who would be the first to reduce?” The captive gently shook his head. “If the combat power within the sect is insufficient, even a slight misstep could lead to being swallowed by other sects. Even if your Kun-Lai is far away in the Western Continent, aren’t you always on guard?”
The Western Continent is indeed too far from the prosperous lands of the human race, so far that the larger powers can hardly reach it. However, this success didn’t come easily. Kun-Lai also experienced a setback in the Central Continent before it was reborn from the ashes in the Western Continent. Even now, the remains of Kun-Lai within the Taiqing Sect’s domain of influence is a precious territory that the Taiqing Sect has sent people to excavate several times. Occasionally, manuscripts of talisman and warding methods by the Xing Dao Master would circulate in the Central Continent, provoking the three major sects to take action to snatch the treasure for themselves.
“I understand. However, regarding your request, let’s discuss it after the poison in your system is resolved. Qingnu is busy and will be here shortly.” Madam Guan nodded, seeming to think of some other solution. He picked up a square needle as thick as a long chopstick and stabbed it into his hand along the Shaoyang Meridian.
The sensation was too intoxicating. The captive considered his tolerance and recalled the feeling he had when being tormented by Qingnu. He shook his hand, and the petrification receded, revealing a wrist as flawless as jade.
Madam Guan was stunned.
“You’ve already healed it. I shouldn’t need to pay too much for it, right?” the captive asked softly.
There was no choice; with the declining morals of society, if one didn’t play some tricks, everyone would struggle to survive.
***
Ji Yunlai smiled in amusement. This is what an expedition is like—it can mature the disciples both mentally and physically at a rapid pace.
Shaking his head, he withdrew his gaze, looking at his apprentice who had returned to normal and no longer blushed, then glanced at the shadow that had settled down to the point of being indistinguishable from any other ordinary shadow, feeling a bit regretful.
Xiao Qing used to be so playful; now he doesn’t even want to play with me…
Feeling his master’s soulful gaze, Feng Qingxiu suddenly turned around, a look of vigilance on his face. “What do you want to do now?”
…The older his apprentice got, the less obedient he became. Ji Yunlai felt a sense of sadness.
In the following days, Feng Qingxiu’s life continued as usual: handling various matters on the peak, practicing swordsmanship, cultivating, meditating, and occasionally being teased by his master.
They encountered several waves of beast demons along the way, and various flying peaks suffered some minor injuries, but the newbies, having gone through the baptism of these battles, were now nearly accustomed to the rhythm and were no longer as flustered as they were at the beginning.
They also occasionally searched below the Abyss, and with Ji Yunlai watching over them, not many people fell into the Nine Abyss this time.
Compared to previous losses, these could be considered negligible.
For a time, the mountain veins of the various flying peaks were filled with many valuable items.
After stopping several times along the way, about twenty days after leaving Ziyun Dao City, a strange city appeared on the distant horizon.
It was a city amidst the sea of clouds, where enormous beast demons occasionally flew out, illuminated by the distant sunset, appearing grand and awe-inspiring.
The buildings were not square houses built by humans but various caves scattered within stone forests, with the spaces between them being very sparse, indicating territory belonging to the beast demons.
As the flying peaks approached, they discovered that the city was not actually in the sea of clouds but on top of a high mountain. This mountain was exceptionally bizarre in appearance, with a square shape and cliffs thousands of meters high on all sides, looking as though it had been cut flat with an axe.
“It looks like a large slice of cake thrown down by the heavens,” Ji Yunlai commented.
However, today seemed particularly quiet, with few disciples coming out to watch. Ji Yunlai turned around and found his apprentice still engrossed in some information recorded in a jade tablet for quite some time.
“What are you looking at?” the master asked his apprentice.
“A book given by Senior Brother Yang.” Feng Qingxiu’s ears turned slightly red as he casually crushed the jade tablet, his teeth clenched slightly. “With such a thoughtful senior brother, I should give back something as well.”