Chapter 588
After the bounty from Haori Mountain was announced, most disciples of the Chongxuan Sect had studied the magical artifacts of the Jiushan Sect. While they couldn't replicate them, recognizing them was not difficult.
Now, it was clear at a glance that what Sister Ye said was no exaggeration.
"Li Hao? How come I’ve never heard of this senior brother before?"
Sister Ye glanced around at the others and, with a silver tongue, vividly recounted the scene of Senior Brother Li battling the Shenxiao battleship.
The crowd listened in disbelief.
Yet, looking at the room filled with magical artifacts and elixirs, they understood that it would be hard to fake this.
They began to whisper among themselves, discussing this previously little-known Li Hao.
After Sister Ye finished, she urged the attending disciple, "Help me exchange these items for the bounty! I want to send it to Senior Brother Li Hao!"
The attending disciple, who had been in a daze, suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly fetched various spiritual materials from the storage within the cave, packing them into a storage bag and handing it to Sister Ye.
Sister Ye counted and found something was off:
There were too many spiritual materials!
She had learned the rules of the Tongshi Cave over this period… which of these disciples of the Transformation Elders didn’t skimp a bit?
But today, this one was as honest as could be, not a hint of greed!
Seemingly understanding her confusion, the attending disciple whispered, "Please send my regards to Senior Brother Li."
Upon hearing this, Sister Ye, with her hands full of storage bags, straightened her back and exited the Tongshi Cave.
Behind her, the murmurs grew louder.
The name Li Hao rose like the underground fire of a volcano within the Chongxuan Sect.
...
A few days later, a rainbow light streaked across the sky, landing on a mountain peak.
As the rainbow dissipated, it revealed the figures of the new star Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang.
On the peak, Uncle Pang and Elder Han stood side by side, their faces filled with shame.
"Master!"
Zheng Fa's tone was somewhat cold.
"What’s the situation?"
"Eight Foundation Establishment disciples are dead."
Uncle Pang spoke in a low voice, his words laced with anger.
The latest news was indeed alarming!
Elder Han took responsibility, "It’s my fault for not keeping a close watch, allowing the Bishi Poison Immortal to infiltrate the Baixian Alliance."
Zheng Fa let out a soft breath, "It’s not your fault, Elder Han; it’s our oversight."
The Bishi Poison Immortal was originally a Yuanying cultivator from the Haori Mountain region, highly skilled in stealth and poison techniques.
Unexpectedly, he had come due to the bounty from Haori Mountain.
The problem was, this person was quite cunning.
He didn’t target the heavily guarded Han Qi and the others.
Instead, he focused on Uncle Pang’s investigation team.
Uncle Pang needed to conduct a census, and of course, he couldn’t gather everyone together; that would be far too inefficient.
Thus, the disciples often split into smaller teams to collect data.
The Bishi Poison Immortal was cautious and chose a small team.
With his Yuanying cultivation and some special techniques, Uncle Pang realized something was wrong only when it was too late.
In fact, they didn’t even see the complete corpses of those disciples.
After hearing Uncle Pang’s account, Zheng Fa’s expression grew heavier as he said, "I’ve already found out that most Yuanying cultivators coming from Haori Mountain are here to exchange for bounties at the Chongxuan Sect."
This was where Sister Ye’s greatest value lay—
Elder Han’s intelligence network was still new and far less reliable than the information from an insider like Sister Ye.
"The Bishi Poison Immortal is the same."
Upon hearing this, Uncle Pang gritted his teeth, "I’ll go…"
"I’ll go."
...
At the foot of Huoshen Peak, a green-robed cultivator emerged from the Chongxuan Sect’s protective formation, holding a brand new storage bag.
Behind him were several loose cultivators from the direction of Haori Mountain, flattering him as they followed, "The real person is truly wise; there are plenty of disciples from Jiushan Sect, why bother with those troublesome Shenxiao battleships?"
"A few Foundation Establishment cultivators exchanged for bounties at Haori Mountain, which is worth more than what we’ve earned in the past few months."
The green-robed cultivator was the Bishi Poison Immortal. Due to his poison cultivation, he was quite short, resembling a child.
Yet his face was lined with wrinkles, and his eyes glimmered with a green light, sending chills down one’s spine.
"I’m just afraid the Jiushan Sect won’t let this go…"
"A few Foundation Establishment disciples, that’s all." The Bishi Poison Immortal replied, his voice hoarse and raspy, "If we’re careful, even if we face a Yuanying real person, we can still escape. What can the Jiushan Sect do to us?"
The others beside him nodded in agreement.
The Jiushan Sect wouldn’t go that far…
Suddenly, a hand descended from the sea of clouds, crashing down on the Bishi Poison Immortal.
The group looked up in shock to see Zheng Fa standing in the clouds, expressionless, gazing down.
"Zheng Fa!"
Panic surged through the crowd.
Though Zheng Fa’s aura was merely that of a Yuanying cultivator, he was recognized by cultivators for his combat prowess. Now, with a sudden strike, he directly obliterated the Bishi Poison Immortal’s physical body, leaving not even a trace of his Yuanying!
Within the Chongxuan Sect, silence reigned.
The trapped Immortal Sword in the mist seemed to stir, and the fog at the mountain peak churned, a killing intent piercing through the mist towards Zheng Fa. But Zheng Fa’s figure flickered, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from sight.
After a while, Shinan Dang finally emerged from the mist within the Chongxuan Sect, staring silently in the direction Zheng Fa had departed.
In the Jiushan realm, Zheng Fa also sought out Xie Qingxue:
"You were right, Xie Fairy; those seven Transformation cultivators will need some time to control the Immortal Sword."
He dared to appear outside the Chongxuan Sect, naturally having made preparations:
The first was the Canghai Pearl.
The second was Xie Qingxue’s speculation.
"The Immortal Sword is our sect’s treasure. The seven Transformation cultivators from Haori Mountain, with their incompatible techniques, could never wield it effectively." Xie Qingxue frowned, "It seems they have some other use for it."
Zheng Fa nodded gently.
"In that case, I can be a bit bolder within the Chongxuan Sect."
...
"How can we not trust Li Hao?"
In the master’s cave, Elder Jiu Bixia raised her voice to the master of the Chongxuan Sect and Elder Ba:
"Many disciples are hesitant, but he fearlessly seized so many magical artifacts and elixirs from the Jiushan Sect!"
"How many disciples in our sect take pride in him now?"
"If we continue to doubt him, won’t that just break his heart?"
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