After the incident that day, Chu Qi and Yan Jiuge rested in the forest for two days.
It was probably because a fourth-level spiritual beast had appeared, and no other spiritual beasts appeared around.
Two days later, they received a message from Liu Weiming, and learned that the rest of their fellow disciples had all arrived at the central area of the Yunxi Secret Realm, so they planned to reunite with them.
While flying on the sword, Chu Qi took a quick look at the mountains and forests in mid-air, trying to see any signs of activities of other cultivators.
It would be best to know the whereabouts of Fuyao Palace so that he can be on guard.
But the forest was completely silent. Not only were there no cultivators, but even no spiritual beasts were to be seen.
Fuyao Palace and others probably left this place.
See you next time, it will probably be the time when the rare treasure comes.
*
Yan Jiuge flew on his sword for only a quarter of an hour before he found Liu Weiming and the others by following his senses.
After more than a month of training, the 19 sword cultivators of Tianxuan Sect seemed to have changed a lot, and their auras had become much more solid. After the baptism of actual combat, their mentalities had also been tempered to be more resilient.
Liu Weiming took the lead and stepped forward, extending his hand to bow, and reported to Yan Jiuge, "First Senior Brother, fortunately I have fulfilled my mission, and none of my fellow disciples were injured."
"Junior Brother Liu, you have worked hard."
Yan Jiuge nodded, and then he swept his eyes over the other Tianxuan Sect disciples. While sizing them up, he said, "You all have worked hard. Starting today, we will set off for the center of the Yunxi Secret Realm. This place is dangerous. In addition to the many high-level spirit beasts, there are also many outer sect cultivators with evil intentions. Everyone must be careful and be on guard."
"Disciple, please remember this!"
All the sword cultivators responded.
"In that case, I suggest that Junior Brother Chu walk in the center of the formation." Liu Weiming suggested.
The Tianxuan Sect has an unwritten practice that when going out for training, disciples with higher cultivation levels must consciously protect their younger brothers and sisters with lower cultivation levels. The formation of the array is quite particular, with the strong ones outside and the weak ones inside, and the former is led by the one with the highest strength.
If there is an accident, we will do our best to protect the disciples in the center of the sword formation.
Chu Qi knew the positions of the Tianxuan Sect's sword formation, but it might not be a good idea for him to stand in the center. "I don't know the sword cultivation method, so I'm afraid it will be delayed when forming the sword formation."
"Won't."
Yan Jiuge spoke, with a thoughtful look in his eyes, "We can change the formation. Since there are medical disciples here, we can use the killing formation."
Chu Qi was stunned for a moment, then quickly came to his senses and understood what Yan Jiuge meant.
There are two types of sword formations in Tianxuan Sect. One is a sword formation formed by pure sword cultivation disciples, and the other is a formation formed by sword cultivation disciples and medical cultivation disciples. However, in recent years, the medical cultivation lineage has declined, and sword cultivation disciples are used to forming formations using the former method. Now the formation has been changed, with sword cultivation disciples focusing on attack and medical cultivation disciples focusing on defense.
"Is this okay? This is my first time setting up a killing formation." Luo Wuci scratched his head, with some worry in his voice.
It wasn't just Luo Wuci, all the Tianxuan Sect disciples present were forming a killing formation for the first time.
"Let's give it a try." Liu Weiming thought that the killing array was feasible. Junior Brother Chu had great medical skills and was at the late stage of the Golden Core, so he should be able to hold the center of the array. Moreover, they had been training for so long that they had already developed the instinct to not get hurt easily, and would not put pressure on Junior Brother Chu to treat the disease at will.
"It won't be a problem. Trust yourself and your fellow disciples."
After Yan Jiuge finished speaking, the worries in the eyes of the Tianxuan Sect's sword-cultivating disciples disappeared. They were not fighting alone, with their fellow disciples guarding each other behind them, so their strength should not be underestimated.
After the discussion, everyone took a short break and then rushed to the center of the Yunxi Secret Realm together.
The closer you are to the center, the stronger the spirit beasts will be, and even demon beasts will appear. Flying with a sword is not as safe as walking, and it will be much more convenient to have a spirit sword in hand.
On the way, Chu Qi took out a map and used some terrain to determine the direction of the road they were taking, trying to get to the Crescent Lake in the center as quickly as possible to seize the initiative.
*
Not only did they think so, but other monks who were training in the secret realm also thought so.
However, the plans of some cultivators are completely different from those of Chu Qi and others, and the "first mover advantage" they seize is not the center of the Yunxi Secret Realm.
At the entrance of a valley, a team of about forty people were waiting there. They were all independent cultivators from the Yunhua Realm. They had temporarily formed an alliance at the edge of the Central Region and had no intention of going any deeper into the area to take risks. Instead, they chose to wait here for lone cultivators or small teams passing by, and then rob them of their belongings and the gains from the Yunxi Secret Realm and take them for themselves.
After all, the central area of the Yunxi Secret Realm is very dangerous. They don't want to die, but they also want to gain benefits, so they start blocking the road.
At noon, the occasional breeze blowing through the valley can dispel the heat but cannot dispel the anxiety of the people.
"Here they come, twenty-one people in total. Shall we start right away?" A sharp-eyed monk saw the team at the end of the road and turned back to ask the other accomplices.
"Why don't we just ask them? If they just hand over the Qiankun bag, we won't have to do anything." Someone hesitated.
"Are you dreaming, Zhao Si? You want someone to give you money for nothing? The last time we met a team, we ended up fighting, and we lost the initiative, and suffered a lot of losses."
"Listen to me and go straight ahead."
"The main thing is that they don't look like wealthy monks. They dress too plainly."
"… "
The last words made everyone hesitate. It was true. The clothes of those twenty-one monks were very simple, and it seemed that they would not gain much even if they won.
"Then let them go?"
"No, even a mosquito leg is meat. There are too many of us, and there won't be enough to go around in the end."
"Then let someone go and find out the truth first. Zhao Si, go quickly."
Amid the discussion among the crowd, the young monk named Zhao Si was pushed out. It was because this person was hesitant when robbing, which was really unbearable.
Zhao Si was a cowardly person. He mixed in with this group of people and only avoided being robbed because the medical practitioner was able to save some elixirs for them.
At first they hadn't said they were going to do robbery, but now that they were doing it, if they quit halfway, they would be slaughtered like fat sheep by these people and thrown away.
Zhao Si regretted it very much. If he had known earlier, he should not have been greedy and came to the central area. It would have been better for him to work hard to search for some rare treasures somewhere else than to stay in this team.
Being pushed out by the crowd, Zhao Si had no choice but to stop the team of 21 people as they said.
*
As early as when they were approaching the valley, Chu Qi and others had already sensed many complex auras.
"There are a total of 41 people, 30 magic practitioners, 5 sword practitioners, 5 beast masters, and 1 medical practitioner. What are they doing here? Could it be that there are some natural treasures that are about to mature?"
Luo Wuci counted those people in detail, his face full of confusion.
"Junior Brother Luo, they are not waiting for rare treasures, but for you." Liu Weiming said coldly.
"Hmm? Senior Brother Liu, what do you mean? I don't know them." Luo Wuci entered the sect later than Liu Weiming. He was usually obsessed with swordsmanship and rarely went out of the temple. This was his first time going out to experience the dangers of the world.
"Hey? Why did only one medical practitioner come out to stop us?" Although Chu Qi guessed that it was a robbery, he did not guess that they would send a medical practitioner in the end.
"Let's talk about it after it's over."
Yan Jiuge took a quick look and found that no one on the opposite side was capable of fighting, so it was not worth his attention.
Zhao Si took a deep breath and controlled his trembling body. He wanted to finish his threatening words and run away, but unexpectedly, the person opposite him asked him first.
"My fellow Taoist, what do you want?"
Luo Wuci was really curious.
Being asked such an unexpected question, the courage that Zhao Si had mustered up disappeared. He stammered, unable to utter a single clear word. Instead, he became very nervous under the gazes of everyone, and finally turned around and ran away.
"?"
Everyone in the Tianxuan Sect was completely confused.
But Zhao Si's action made the other monks who were "lying in ambush" nearby unable to hold back. Someone spat at Zhao Si for being useless and jumped out to stop them.
"Hand over all the Qiankun bags you have, or we will not be polite."
"… "
The air was quiet for a moment, and Luo Wuci suddenly realized, "So it was a highway robbery."
"Nonsense, pay the money quickly to ensure your safety, or we will-"
"boom!"
A heavy sword fell from the sky. Luo Wuci had already used the sword-controlling technique, and while the man was speaking, the sword hit him in the face.
"My fellow disciples, we have encountered such a ridiculous thing. If we don't teach them a lesson today, it will be difficult for them to understand what it means to be shameless and ignorant!"
Luo Wuci spoke with great righteousness, and even the sword cultivators who had already known that it was a robbery, felt a bit of empathy.
When you see injustice, you should use your sword to eliminate it.
There were forty-one cultivators on the opposite side, excluding one medical cultivator, there were forty left, and none of them could withstand the sword energy of the sword cultivator disciple of Tianxuan Sect.
The remaining cultivators realized that the situation was not right and thought about escaping. They saw that among the twenty-one sword cultivators, only one had a slightly weaker aura, so they all ran towards him.
People who practice medical cultivation will appear to be more gentle on the outside.
But Chu Qi himself is not gentle to everyone.
The Guiyin sword was unsheathed, and Chu Qi used his sword skills to teach these outer sect monks a lesson without any mercy, and no one could escape.
The situation was one-sided, and Chu Qi's healing skills didn't even need to be used. This crushing battle ended.
The monks who had robbed people on the road admitted their mistakes and begged for mercy, and vowed to mend their ways and never do such dirty things again.
Yan Jiuge glanced at those people and asked, "What about the natural treasures you robbed before?"
The monks were speechless.
"Hand it all in. Oh, by the way! Sword cultivators have to pay me double!" Luo Wuci added, looking at the five sword cultivators with a bit of disappointment. They were all sword cultivators, but their character was not that good. They didn't practice sword skills well, and they even wanted to rob people.
One Qiankun bag after another was handed to Chu Qi, and the last one was a medical practitioner.
Zhao Si's hands were shaking the whole time. He had saved up this little bit of money with great difficulty, but he didn't expect that after this experience, he would have nothing left.
"Did you steal this?"
A questioning voice sounded above Zhao Si's head.
"I... my own..." Zhao Si whispered.
"You keep it, and don't help others do this kind of thing next time." The medical cultivator is considered an accomplice among this group of people. They don't have much fighting power. If the Qiankun bag is gone, it will be difficult for them to survive in this Yunxi Secret Realm.
Zhao Si was stunned for a moment, then his eyes showed gratitude, and he was about to say something tremblingly. Before he could say anything more, the "sword cultivator" in front of him walked around him and left after saying this.
Forty cultivators were lying on the ground, with only one medical cultivator standing unscathed. Unless they were mortal enemies, the sword cultivators of the Tianxuan Sect would not attack medical cultivators.
Firstly, in the sect, we always see sword-fighting elders being beaten by medical elders. Secondly, the sect leader and elders have told us to protect our fellow medical practitioners. We should treat medical practitioners from other sects with kindness as we would like to be treated ourselves.
"My fellow disciples, let's continue on our journey."
After this episode, Yan Jiuge turned his attention to the road ahead. According to the map, after passing this valley, it is probably an area with a high concentration of fourth-level spirit beasts, and the danger will increase at that time.
The twenty-one people continued on their way, and their figures soon disappeared around the corner of the valley.
Zhao Si raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but he felt relieved in his heart. Now, he could find a place without danger and wait for the secret realm to end before leaving.
As for the other injured monks lying on the ground, although Zhao Si was cowardly, he was not kind enough to heal them and then take the risk of being threatened. He should leave here quickly while the other monks were still recovering from their injuries.
Just when Zhao Si was making all the plans, two figures rushed over from the front of the valley. They were wearing light yellow clothes embroidered with the logo of Fuyao Palace.
Zhao Si met a pair of beautiful eyes, and the owner of the eyes asked him, "Is the cultivator who just passed by a sword cultivator from the Tianxuan Sect?"
"No, I don't know." Zhao Si answered subconsciously.
Another Fuyao Palace maiden said, "Sensing the remaining sword energy around here, it does look like the Tianxuan Sect."
Zhao Si secretly glanced at her and found that her eyes were somewhat ruthless and seemed to be out of focus. From what others said, the disciples of Fuyao Palace were friendly, but it seemed that was not always the case
"Daoyou, do you know where they went?"
Just when Zhao Si was distracted, the man from before asked him again in a gentle tone.
Their eyes met, and Zhao Si's pupils gradually became dilated. He said blankly, "He walked towards the back of the valley."
"I see that you are alone. It would be very dangerous to go to the Yunxi Secret Realm for training. Why don't you go with us in Fuyao Palace?"
While Ling Zhihuai was speaking words of seduction, his puppetry had already been planted on the medical practitioner in front of him.
Just now, the people from Tianxuan Sect passed by and injured so many cultivators, but they only let this medical cultivator go. This must be unusual.
Using this medical practitioner to approach them might have a good effect.
“No, no, no!”
However, to his surprise, his puppetry failed on Zhao Si.
The young man, who was a little dazed at first, kept shaking his head. He couldn't wait to say what he was thinking, "The center of the secret realm is too dangerous. I don't want to go there. I just want to get away from here and get out safely."
Ling Zhihuai clenched his palms, and a crack appeared on his hypocritical smile.
(End of this chapter)