Chapter 132: Chapter 114: A Fine Errand of Wiping Out Clans, Beseeching the Celestial Book for a Date of Death

Xu Yan had just stepped into the hall and was about to report when Sui Liushu waved his hand and said:

“Don’t be a spoilsport! Come, come, sit down and have a drink with your master! This is the ’Body-Burning Wine’ that Younger Brother Yang specially had someone purchase from Dangyin Ridge!

I used to have a few sips whenever I was there, whether I had business or not. It’s quite invigorating!”

Younger Brother Yang?

Xu Yan’s eyelids twitched. If Yang Xun hadn’t been sitting right next to them, he really would have grabbed his master and demanded an explanation.

’You’re supposed to be nurturing a Daoist Can!’

’Why does it look like you’re about to become sworn brothers!’

Xu Yan cleared his throat, stepped forward, and said:

“Master, something has happened at the foot of the mountain…”

The smile on Sui Liushu’s face froze slightly. He put down his chopsticks.

“There are no outsiders here, so speak freely. How many years has Younger Brother Yang served diligently in the Qianji Sect? He’s a loyal and faithful old-timer!”

Xu Yan ground his teeth, wondering to himself, ’Has Master gone mad?’

’Could it be that Yang Xun used Ding Fire to stir up his melancholy instead?’

“I’m a lightweight, so I won’t disturb you. Elder Sui and Senior Brother Xu, please take your time.”

Yang Xun chuckled and was about to get up and leave, but Sui Liushu reached out and held him down.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, Younger Brother Yang. We’re just getting to the good part. Don’t let this useless disciple of mine interrupt.”

Xu Yan had no choice. Knowing his master’s temperament, he could only cup his hands and say:

“According to the intelligence report from the Lower Courtyard, several Qi Cultivation Clans in Lujiang are causing trouble. They’re colluding with Loose Cultivators to privately mint talisman-money, cultivate Spirit Fields, and imitate the ancients…”

Sui Liushu frowned. “This was originally a matter for the Supreme Merit Institute. How did it fall to you to interfere?”

Xu Yan lowered his head and replied, “The Spiritual Aura shifted abruptly a few days ago, and Senior Sister Zhou is still in seclusion to recuperate, so she’s unavailable. With no one in the Supreme Merit Institute to take the assignment, it fell to the Acquisition Institute.”

Sui Liushu snorted coldly and shot his disciple a sidelong glance. “I think you just want to snatch this merit for yourself, don’t you? Speak. Which Spiritual Resources from the warehouse have you set your sights on?”

Xu Yan’s heart tightened. He gave a wry smile. “Master’s perception is truly sharp. Your disciple does indeed wish to exchange for a high-quality Blazing Flame Spiritual Mechanism to cultivate the Flame Manipulation and Light Capturing Skill. I’m still short two major merits.”

Sui Liushu pointed a finger at Xu Yan accusingly, then turned to Yang Xun with a smile. “This disciple of mine is just like that. Don’t be fooled by his words; there are a thousand hidden schemes behind everything he says.”

Yang Xun just forced a smile. “Senior Brother Xu is the leader of the Inner Peak Disciples; he’s only trying to help the Dharma Lineage. Lujiang is under our sect’s jurisdiction. If trouble breaks out and word reaches the True Masters of the Taifu Sect, the repercussions will be significant.”

Sui Liushu mused, “The Qi Cultivation Clans are like weeds. If they grow too wild, it’s time to clear a batch out. Did the Lower Courtyard say how many Loose Cultivators have gathered there?”

Xu Yan bowed and reported, “Around seven or eight hundred people. It’s a motley crew, including Magic Slaves who fled from the Yin Puppet Sect and villainous remnants whose Dharma Lineage Decrees have been revoked…”

Sui Liushu waved his hand dismissively, as if he couldn’t be bothered to hear more. “Are you confident you can wipe them all out?”

Xu Yan said with a serious expression, “I am ninety-nine percent certain. There won’t be the slightest mistake.”

Sui Liushu asked again, “Take ten people from the Acquisition Institute with you. Will that be enough?”

Xu Yan nodded. “More than enough.”

Sui Liushu tapped the table with his finger, glanced at Yang Xun, and seemed to hesitate for a moment before asking, “Younger Brother Yang, this trip down the mountain to wipe out clans is a fine opportunity. Does that grandson of yours want a piece of the pie?”

Yang Xun’s sparse eyebrows twitched. “Ah Yi is on duty at the Merit Supervision Institute, guarding the Fire Cave and Water Cave. I’m afraid he can’t get away.”

But Sui Liushu said, “It will only be a few days’ delay. Lujiang is only seven or eight hundred li from here, right under our noses. Razing a few Qi Cultivation Clans and killing seven or eight hundred Loose Cultivators won’t even take five days for a round trip.”

In his younger years, Yang Xun had accompanied Sui Liushu on several such missions and knew how profitable they were. A single trip could easily net millions in talisman-money.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, “I’ll go talk to Ah Yi. If it’s not a problem, I’ll have him go with Senior Brother Xu.”

Sui Liushu smiled in satisfaction. “What ’Senior Brother Xu’? He’s just a junior. Younger Brother Yang, you don’t have to be so polite.”

Then he pointed at Xu Yan and barked, “And you! Hurry up and call him ’Uncle Yang’!”

A vein throbbed on Xu Yan’s forehead. ’I’m an Inner Peak Disciple, yet I’m being told to call an Outer Sect Servant “Uncle”?’

’Master must have really damaged his heart-meridians. He’s gone senile!’

He felt utterly stifled, but he had no choice but to cup his hands in a salute and say stiffly, “Greetings, Uncle Yang.”

With that, he flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.

“The younger generation has such a temper. They clearly need more tempering.”

Sui Liushu muttered in dissatisfaction, then pulled Yang Xun back to drinking with him. “Younger Brother Yang, where were we? Ah, yes! Thirty years ago, at Dangyin Ridge…”

…

…

[I beg the Celestial Book, show me if there is mortal danger or a great ominous sign on this trip down the mountain?]

[Additional condition: If there are other unfavorable matters, please note them as well.]

[Subject of inquiry: Fortune and Misfortune]

[Deduction time: Two days]

Jiang Yi’s thoughts dispersed. The golden paper faded, and the bright light in his eyes returned. “A Qi Cultivation Clan colluding with Loose Cultivators? Aren’t they just courting death with such petty schemes?”

He was a little puzzled. A few days ago, his Grandpa, Yang Xun, had sent a message asking if he wanted to go down the mountain with Xu Yan of the Acquisition Institute for a lucrative job of wiping out a clan.

That was why he had begged the Celestial Book to divine the fortune of the trip.

True Master Xuanmiao, who was meditating nearby, shook its head and said slowly, “What’s so strange about that? Even some Dharma Lineages from Branch Sects and Grand Sects have had their mountain gates crushed and their Talisman Decrees revoked for defying the Daoist Lineage. The Zhongyi Sect is a perfect example.”

Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow, his thoughts turning to Xuan Chanzi.

He was probably the first Foundation Establishment True Master Jiang Yi had ever met, and he had left a deep impression.

“You can’t figure it out, can you? Xiao Jiang, your perspective is still too shallow. But I don’t blame you. Living at the bottom, you’re just a Lower Cultivator. There are many things whose mysteries you cannot fathom.”

True Master Xuanmiao sat with its five centers facing heaven, pretending to be cultivating, and spoke in the pompous manner of an elder, “A Dharma Lineage exists under a Daoist Lineage, just as a subject serves a king. When the king gives an order, they must obey.

But a Dharma Lineage’s foundation is its survival, and its duty is its continuation. If the king’s command threatens that survival and continuation, they cannot obey even if it means ten thousand deaths. They can only commit defiance, fighting for a chance even if it means being crushed to pieces.”

Jiang Yi, only half-understanding, couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Then, Cat Master, do you know why the Zhongyi Sect defied the Daoist Lineage?”

True Master Xuanmiao shook its head like a rattle-drum. “This True Master has been peacefully cultivating in an unknowable place for all these years. How would I know about such recent events?

But you don’t need a brain to guess that. The Zhongyi Sect followed the [Sword Dao]. That bunch are all lunatics shouldering Killing Tribulations. How could they ever abide by the laws of the Demon Dao.”

It then recalled past events and began to speak of ancient times. “Besides, long before that, the Eight Sects had argued over whether to take in the [Sword Dao] and give them a place to settle.

I heard from my former master that the Buddha Elder of the Ximizhou Continent once offered the Ten Directions Pure Land, a Lion Forest, and a Pusaka Small Realm in exchange for the Eight Sects True Monarchs turning the [Sword Dao] away.

But in the end, for some unknown reason, the [Sword Dao] was still allowed to take root in the Nanzhan Continent.”

Jiang Yi clicked his tongue. Although he didn’t really understand the value of the Ten Directions Pure Land, the Lion Forest, or the Pusaka Small Realm, he imagined it must be an amount of talisman-money so vast it could crush him to death.

He never would have thought that the [Sword Dao], once so glorious that it still held great influence even after being destroyed for 120,000 years, had fallen to such a desperate state.

“In the end, for an [Outer Dao] to try and enter the established Daoist Lineage of the mortal world, it is destined to go through countless hardships. Even if it means sacrificing a hundred generations of disciples, they may not be able to truly establish the foundation of their Dharma Lineage.”

As True Master Xuanmiao spoke, it seemed deeply moved, as if it had seen too many such scenes of struggling for survival in vain.

“Xiao Jiang, you must remember this: on the path of Cultivation, until you become a True Monarch, everything is ultimately like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow.

As for the merits of a Dharma Lineage, if it does not become an Ancestral Sect and receive the true transmission of the Great Dao, it will also end up being driven like Cattle and Horses.”

Jiang Yi took every word to heart. He closed his eyes again, circulated his energy, and began Breathing Spiritual Qi to refine his Primordial Essence Treasure Blood.

「Two days passed in a flash.」

As the golden paper trembled, small, tadpole-like characters leaped out one after another.

[No mortal danger, no great ominous sign, but possible grief from the loss of a loved one.]

Jiang Yi’s glabella throbbed violently, as if seared by fire.

’Sui Liushu plans to make a move on Grandpa while I’m gone?’

’Fine by me. I’ll take care of this matter along the way, then I can go down the mountain and get rich with peace of mind.’

The other day, when Jiang Yi, filled with killing intent, asked Yang Xun if he was willing to consume the Daoist Can, it was not for no reason.

Just as he had killed Zhang Chao and Dong Ba, he believed in nipping danger in the bud to ensure his Cultivation could proceed safely.

’I just want to live a quiet life in the Merit Supervision Institute. Why must you people force my hand?’

Jiang Yi lowered his eyes, erased the cause and effect, and inquired once more.

[I beg the Celestial Book, show me the date of death for Elder Sui Liushu of Observing Fate Peak?]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep