Novel Full Chapter 354: Suppressing Bandits
The vast, empty deck of the massive ferry. Gu Jing’s gaze was as calm as still water as it fell upon the young woman in moon-white daoist robes standing before him, and he asked this question.
“I did not expect you to ascend to immortality this quickly.”
The ferry continued to slice through the sea of clouds.
The fierce winds howled, causing the moon-white daoist robes worn by both Gu Jing and Qiu Siruo to flutter wildly.
Gu Jing’s tone was utterly tranquil.
As if he wasn’t surprised at all that Jingchen, who had originally been slacking off on Heavenly Summit Mountain and had completely given up on cultivation, had now suddenly regained her memories.
Gu Jing had never forced Si Youyou to cultivate.
He was very clear that during the period he left Heavenly Summit Mountain to travel to the Southern Region’s Star Heaven Sect, it was absolutely impossible for Si Youyou to come to terms with things on her own and then break through to the Spirit Connection Realm.
Someone was meddling in this.
Gu Jing had guessed something.
“How are things on Star Heaven Sect’s side?”
Qiu Siruo asked.
Gu Jing was the eighth-generation steward of Heavenly Summit Mountain, while Qiu Siruo was the tenth-generation steward of Heavenly Summit Mountain.
Although it sounded like there was only a single generation between them, the gap represented by that one generation was thousands, even tens of thousands of years.
The Immortal Ascension Realm cultivators of Heavenly Summit Mountain had never had a generational break.
Although it was now fundamentally impossible to investigate, it was highly likely that Realman Lingxuan, who presided over the latter period of Heavenly Summit Mountain, might have once existed in the same era as a still-young Qiu Siruo.
In other words, if one were to truly discuss seniority, Gu Jing was absolutely Qiu Siruo’s great senior.
Yet judging from Qiu Siruo’s attitude, she didn’t seem to show the slightest bit of respect for Gu Jing either.
After all, they were both Ascended Immortals.
Gu Jing did not speak, merely raising his hand to reveal the fragment of the bronze mirror.
Then he paused for a moment:
“So, how did you wake up?”
Upon hearing this, Qiu Siruo tilted her head slightly, a few strands of hair falling beside her cheek. This movement still held a trace of the youthful charm of the girl Si Youyou, but the profound indifference settled in her deep eyes could make anyone’s heart palpitate with fear.
“Merely disturbed by a nightmare.”
Qiu Siruo answered, then continued:
“You should not have returned the Dao Basis to Star Heaven Sect.”
“Oh?”
Realman Lingxuan raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Creating extra complications, adding unnecessary variables. What if that Dao Union cultivator from Star Heaven Sect truly comprehends Realman Sun and Moon’s Dao Basis?”
Qiu Siruo countered.
“I’ve met him. Star Heaven Sect’s current Supreme Pivot Elder, Gu Jiancheng.”
Gu Jing replied.
“And?”
Qiu Siruo pressed further.
“This body, this lifetime, has no hope of ascending to immortality.”
These eight words flowed from Gu Jing’s lips with such naturalness, such casualness.
Yet for Gu Jiancheng, the weight of these eight words spoken personally by a great power of the Immortal Ascension Realm was enough to plunge him into utter despair.
Immediately after, Gu Jing continued:
“Compared to Star Heaven Sect, or the other Ascended Immortals of the four great sects, the most troublesome one is probably still that person.”
“Indeed.”
Qiu Siruo answered, clearly understanding who Gu Jing meant by “that person.”
…
Chenping Continent, Northwestern Region, Qingque Kingdom.
Yong’an Prefecture.
Just three days ago, Kongshan Sect’s scouts had unexpectedly intercepted a Sound Swift Sparrow.
Tied to the leg of this Sound Swift Sparrow was a small wooden tube, and stuffed inside the tube was a secret letter.
After Kongshan Sect’s scouts roughly read the contents of that secret letter, they were almost certain the letter’s contents were related to the Ding Bandits, who were still active within Qingque Kingdom’s borders yet remained elusive as a dragon’s head and tail.
Thus, this secret letter was reported up through the layers, eventually reaching Li Haowen’s hands.
This middle-aged man, dressed in Yuanhua Mountain’s daoist robes, with one black and one white sword hanging at his waist, looking utterly exhausted with a considerable stubble on his face, was slowly pacing back and forth.
Exterminating the Ding Bandits was far more difficult than Li Haowen had imagined.
If things continued like this, I’m afraid it wouldn’t take much time before Sect Leader Yun and the others would completely lose their patience.
Three days ago, Li Haowen held the secret letter carried by the Sound Swift Sparrow in one hand, and in the other, documents collected from Taiyun City bearing the signatures and signed agreements from when Ding Qiu had served as a manager at Taiyun City’s Immortal Gambling Den years ago.
The handwriting was basically a perfect match.
This meant there was an extremely high probability this secret letter originated from Ding Qiu himself.
Based on the Sound Swift Sparrow’s route and distance, Kongshan Sect’s scouts could roughly calculate Ding Qiu’s current geographical location.
Precisely because of this, several dozen inner and outer court disciples of Kongshan Sect were covertly gathered in a courtyard within Yong’an Prefecture, waiting for the opportune moment, prepared at any time to round up the Ding Bandits and their associates in one fell swoop.
Li Haowen no longer wanted to continue entangling with Ding Qiu. He had originally thought it was just exterminating a somewhat capable Spirit Connection Realm cultivator, but he never expected the Ding Bandits to be so cunning.
He stopped pacing, walked to the window, and looked out at the several dozen Kongshan Sect disciples dressed in civilian clothes, doing their utmost to restrain their cultivation auras.
Then he put away the secret letter in his hand and also changed out of his own daoist robes.
Ding Qiu’s secret letter was a request for material support.
He had entrusted a close friend to help procure a batch of food and medicine, then deliver it to the vicinity of an old pharmacy in Yong’an Prefecture’s West Market that hung a sign reading “Jishi Tang.”
Li Haowen had investigated. Yong’an Prefecture’s West Market was indeed a place where good and bad mixed, an excellent location for passing messages and hiding one’s tracks.
Ding Qiu needed large quantities of food and medicine.
Because, unlike Kongshan Sect, the vast majority of Ding Qiu’s manpower were rogue cultivators from within Qingque Kingdom. Among this group of rogue cultivators, at least more than half were Body Forging Realm cultivators.
Body Forging Realm cultivators were incapable of fasting.
According to the confessions of several captured Ding Bandits, Ding Qiu usually placed the greatest emphasis on loyalty and righteousness. It was precisely because of this that, even under Kongshan Sect’s relentless pursuit, he still maintained a large number of followers.
And it was also because of this loyalty that his secret letter was intercepted, exposing his hiding place.
Because he needed to take care of those Body Forging Realm cultivators who followed him, even though, for Ding Qiu who was gradually being forced into a corner, these Body Forging Realm cultivators had already become nothing but dead weight.
Li Haowen also changed into civilian clothes within the room, then pushed open the door and strode outside, placing the two swords at his waist onto an ox-cart parked in the courtyard.
These two peak swords of Yuanhua Mountain were far too conspicuous.
At this moment, the several dozen inner and outer court Kongshan Sect disciples in the courtyard were all skilled veterans who had crawled out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood during the battles against the Ding Bandits within Qingque Kingdom over this period. They were elites in the absolute sense.
“Move out.”
Li Haowen said in a low voice as he stood in the courtyard.
The several dozen disguised outer court disciples of Kongshan Sect in the courtyard swiftly sprang into action, their movements crisp and efficient.