Innate Immortal Seed

Chapter 301: Chapter 299: Destroy Root and Branch

”You...”

Fairy Taohua hadn’t expected such a forceful reply and was momentarily speechless. But then she saw a streak of red light in the sky and cried out in excitement.

”Qu Lang, I’m here! Come save me, quickly!”

Bai Zichen and Master Ge Cang exchanged a glance. Judging from the approaching escape light, it was without a doubt a Core Formation True Man.

For someone to step forward and help under these circumstances... did the Ghost Spirit Sect have such a staunch ally?

”I pay my respects to Master Ge. Fairy Taohua and I get along splendidly, and we’ve already agreed to return to Qii Mountain together... Why not let her go? After all, the Ten Thousand Ghosts Creek is already in your sect’s hands. Why must you make things difficult for a weak woman?”

The newcomer had a dignified and heroic bearing. Standing next to Fairy Taohua, they truly looked like a perfect couple.

Fairy Taohua, feeling her backup had arrived, shot a triumphant glance over and moved a little closer to him.

”So it is Fellow Daoist Qu. I am afraid I cannot agree to this... The Ghost Spirit Sect and my own sect share a blood feud. Letting this woman go would leave me with no peace of mind, and I would be failing our fallen sect members.”

Master Ge Cang rejected the request in a calm and unhurried, almost bland, tone.

’So it’s Qu Yang of the Holy Lotus Sect!’

Bai Zichen finally understood the newcomer’s identity. He hadn’t thought that Fairy Taohua was secretly involved with the Saint Heir of the Holy Lotus Sect.

But what made Qu Yang think that his status was enough to whisk away a Core Formation True Man from the middle of a brutal sect war of annihilation?

Never mind the fact that the Qingfeng Sect and the Holy Lotus Sect were now on opposing sides, having become enemies in all but name.

Even before, he would have needed at least a handwritten order from True Monarch Jiulian, using the authority of a Nascent Soul True Monarch to issue a command.

”Master Ge, you’d best think this through. Without my Holy Lotus Sect’s acknowledgment, the Qingfeng Sect’s occupation of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Creek is invalid... We could issue a single law decree, ordering you all to withdraw from Hejian County and yield this place to a power our Sect recognizes!”

As the Holy Lotus Sect’s Nascent Soul Seed, Qu Yang had been established as the Saint Heir long before he even reached Core Formation.

His cultivation journey had been incredibly smooth; even his senior brothers with higher realms were exceptionally courteous and deferential to him.

Everyone knew that after True Monarch Jiulian passed away, he would be the Holy Lotus Sect’s hope for the Nascent Soul Realm.

Time was limited. Even if another disciple with a Celestial Spiritual Root were to appear, there wouldn’t be enough time to train them from the beginning.

If not for Master Ge Cang’s renowned reputation and the knowledge that he was no match for him, Qu Yang would not have been so restrained.

SWISH!

The sound of a river flowing upside down, gurgling ominously, sent a chill down Qu Yang’s spine. In the blink of an eye, layers of fire lotuses rose up, enveloping him.

Feeling the astonishing burst of Sword Qi, Qu Yang immediately activated a protective secret technique.

This protective fire lotus was comprehensive and tight, capable of blocking any magic.

Before the lotuses withered, no attack could harm him.

However, the target of the attack was not Qu Yang, but Fairy Taohua, who had relaxed her guard, believing her backup had arrived.

Two silk-like threads of sword light burst into two blossoms of blood on Fairy Taohua’s forehead and chest.

At the same time, the White Bone Sword Light swept out and snatched the storage bag she was holding in her hand.

Fairy Taohua’s bright eyes widened. Her hands grasped at the air twice, feebly, before she fell backward, her face a mask of disbelief.

She had underestimated the speed a Tier Four Flying Sword could unleash at close range in its Refining Sword into Silk state.

She had also never imagined that someone would dare to ignore the Saint Heir of the Holy Lotus Sect and strike so decisively.

Just as the Sword Light withdrew, a Yin Thunder detonated silently.

It lacked the awesome might of other divine thunders that could annihilate everything within a hundred zhang and reforge earth, water, fire, and wind.

”How dare you!”

By the time Qu Yang reacted, using a Fire Cloud Fan to block the aftershock of the Yin Thunder, the two strands of Sword Light had already been withdrawn.

Qu Yang was both humiliated and furious. He stared daggers at Bai Zichen.

He didn’t have any deep feelings for Fairy Taohua.

With Qu Yang’s status, what kind of beautiful celestial maiden couldn’t he have? At most, this woman was only special because of her status as a Core Formation True Man.

But to have Fairy Taohua killed right in front of him, making him lose face and composure—how could he possibly suppress the rage from such a blatant slap in the face?

”I said it before: the hands of the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Core Formation Cultivators are stained with the blood of my kin and sect members. Not a single one will escape... As for being audacious, I’m no match for Saint Heir Qu Yang.”

Bai Zichen’s gaze lingered on Qu Yang’s neck for a moment, and he chuckled lightly.

A chill ran through Qu Yang. He only now realized that Bai Zichen—who had risen to prominence not long ago and only entered the Holy Lotus Sect’s notice in the last thirty years or so—was already a Mid-Stage Core Formation Cultivator, the same Cultivation Realm as himself.

Thinking of the murderous Sword Light from a moment ago, and with the unfathomably powerful Ge Cang on the other side, he suddenly felt his current situation was extremely dangerous.

’My trump cards, which I thought were enough to let me roam the world without a care, aren’t entirely reliable after all,’ he thought.

”No matter what, killing a Core Formation True Man under the protection of the Holy Lotus Sect is an utterly vile act... When I return, I will report this truthfully to the True Monarch and ask His Eminence to pass judgment.”

Qu Yang spat out the threat, transformed into a streak of red light, and disappeared as quickly as he had arrived.

”A buffoon. I overestimated him. A character like that wants to reach Nascent Soul... Junior Brother Bai, I thought you might take the opportunity to draw Qu Yang into the fight with your sword.”

The Nascent Soul Realm couldn’t be achieved with talent and cultivation resources alone.

Master Ge Cang was beginning to understand True Monarch Jiulian’s thinking. If the successor was a world-shaking genius, there would naturally be no need to worry.

If the successor was mediocre, choosing a stable and conservative disciple could still see the Holy Lotus Sect through its dark period, relying on its ten thousand years of heritage.

The fear was choosing someone with some talent but a fickle temperament, who might, through a single misstep, drag the Holy Lotus Sect’s millennia-old foundation into the abyss.

This Qu Yang, no matter how one looked at him, didn’t seem capable of withstanding the pressure from the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons while also suppressing the Qingfeng Sect, let alone advancing to the Nascent Soul Realm himself.

”I spared his life to avoid provoking True Monarch Jiulian too much, lest he decide to intervene personally... Besides, Qu Yang surely has no shortage of Tier Four life-saving escape techniques. I wasn’t a hundred percent certain I could keep him here.”

It would be strange if the Saint Heir of the Holy Lotus Sect didn’t have a few Tier Four Escape Talismans and other life-saving measures hidden on him by a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Bai Zichen glanced at the storage bag he had snatched from Fairy Taohua. Surprisingly, it hadn’t been marked with a Spiritual Mark, so anyone could open it.

It seemed it had been prepared long ago, specifically for someone from the Ghost Spirit Sect to take with them in case of the sect’s destruction, to be used to restore the sect in the future.

The most important items, of course, were two Top-Grade Spirit Stones. One was the color of loess earth, yet bright and golden.

The other emitted a sharp Five Metals Essence Qi; just holding it felt like needles pricking one’s palm.

”Brother Ge, how about we each take one of these Top-Grade Spirit Stones?”

As far as Bai Zichen knew, the entire Qingfeng Sect did not possess a single Top-Grade Spirit Stone. The Spirit Stone Ore Veins within Black Mountain’s territory were too barren.

Hejian County had always been known as the most prosperous and beautiful county in Mizhou, with lush vegetation and rich ore veins of all kinds.

Only within large Spirit Stone Ore Veins was there an extremely low chance of a Top-Grade Spirit Stone forming in the core.

The Ghost Spirit Sect had occupied multiple Spirit Stone Ore Veins, so these two Top-Grade Spirit Stones were clearly the fruits of many years of mining.

”Very well. Top-Grade Spirit Stones are indeed extremely rare for us.”

Master Ge Cang did not hide his desire for the Top-Grade Spirit Stones. Even a Nascent Soul True Monarch would welcome them with open arms—the more, the better.

Bai Zichen took the Gold Element Top-Grade Spirit Stone, and Master Ge Cang took the Earth Element one.

The storage bag also contained a Top-Grade Magical Treasure, no fewer than thirty types of Tier Four Spiritual Materials, and a whole dozen Talisman Treasures.

The Magical Treasure was a Black Radiance Umbrella. It wasn’t tainted by the slightest bit of Demonic Qi; after activating it briefly, it was impossible to imagine that this Top-Grade Magical Treasure had come from a Demon Path Sect.

In addition, a pile of jade bottles and jade boxes contained eighteen Foundation Establishment Pills and three drops of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow.

’It really was a contingency plan for restoring the sect,’ he mused. ’The Magical Treasure was specially chosen to make it easy for a Demon Path Core Formation True Man to change their identity... And the Foundation Establishment Pills and Core Formation Spiritual Objects were to ensure a new batch of core members could be cultivated as quickly as possible after the Ghost Spirit Sect’s fall.’

Bai Zichen rummaged through the storage bag and took only a fist-sized piece of Geng Metal, to be used as a supplementary material for sword refinement in the future.

”No need to show me. I won’t be distracted by anything else before I shatter my core and transform it into a Nascent Soul.”

Master Ge Cang waved his hand, not taking the proffered storage bag.

Even after taking the most valuable Top-Grade Spirit Stones, the remaining materials in the storage bag were still priceless, many of which were treasures the Qingfeng Sect did not possess.

”With so many Foundation Establishment Pills, the Sect’s True Disciples will be blessed for the next decade...”

Bai Zichen put away the storage bag. It was a pity that Fairy Taohua’s personal treasures had been destroyed in the Yin Thunder’s explosion, vanishing into the void.

Below, the battle at the Ten Thousand Ghosts Creek had gradually subsided. Throngs of Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators were being bound with Spirit-Binding Locks, restricting the flow of magical power in their bodies.

”Ancestors, we have captured over seven thousand Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators in total, including fifty-two Foundation Establishment Cultivators... Over two thousand were killed, and a small number escaped. We are arranging for pursuit.”

Wei Chuming came forward to report the rough numbers, feeling a little uneasy.

They had been stretched too thin to completely seal the defensive lines, allowing many Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators to escape. He didn’t know if he would be reprimanded.

”Don’t bother pursuing them. Focus on securing the Ten Thousand Ghosts Creek... The priority now is to take inventory of our gains and catalog all the resources.”

Bai Zichen gave a few casual instructions.

The campaign to destroy the mountain and exterminate the sect—the annihilation of the Ghost Spirit Sect—was now basically complete. Any remaining resistance would be nothing more than a minor annoyance.

But there was still a long and tedious road ahead to fully integrate the Ghost Spirit Sect’s resources and put them to use for the Qingfeng Sect.

Master Ge Cang never involved himself in such administrative matters. With a flick of his long sleeves, he had already gone to the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Hidden Skills Pavilion to browse their collection of rare texts.

Faced with these tedious administrative tasks, Bai Zichen also felt a headache coming on.

He was cornered by Wei Chuming and couldn’t get away, so he had no choice but to issue directives on one matter after another.

’Dealing with this kind of thing really is a job for Senior Brother Wei. Being able to sort out such a vast and complex sea of administrative tasks is a talent in its own right.’

Bai Zichen signed more than ten consecutive decrees, all concerning the packing and transportation of confiscated supplies from the Ghost Spirit Sect back to the Mountain Gate.

There were also plans for handling the various resource points in Hejian County. Previously, they had only occupied the most important Spirit Stone Ore Veins and Tier Three mines.

There were timber forests, Spirit Fields, Medicine Gardens, and even a ten-thousand-mu pond that was home to over a thousand Silverfish.