After checking on Xiaowa, Li Mu then checked on Xiaojin.
In a valley, Xiaojin was entangled in a fierce battle with a thick black python.
The black-scaled python, half a zhang thick, tightly coiled around Xiaojin, trapping him like a zongzi, desperately trying to constrict him to death.
However, the python's body seemed to be constricting a piece of ‘profound iron’; the massive body of the black-scaled python creaked, but it couldn't move an inch, let alone constrict him to death.
Xiaojin seemed oblivious to the giant python's constriction. He gripped the black-scaled python's upper and lower jaws tightly with both hands, pulling them apart with force, and both sides fell into a state of arm wrestling.
"Roar!"
Xiaojin roared, his arm muscles bulging, and he pulled with all his might.
With a 'thump!', the third-order black-scaled python's upper and lower jaws were directly torn in half. The immense pain caused the giant python's body to loosen its grip on Xiaojin.
Seize the Opportunity to strike!
Xiaojin, with a furious expression, swung his fists and mercilessly hammered the black-scaled python's head, blow after blow, until it lost its life.
Soon, Xiaojin dragged the black-scaled python's corpse and returned to the camp with rapid strides.
Seeing this scene, Li Mu smiled faintly and no longer bothered with the two brutal fellows, letting them hunt Yao Beasts.
Li Mu took out a Storage Pouch, retrieved Artifact Refining Materials from it, condensed a ball of Five Elements Spiritual Fire, and focused on Artifact Refining.
The second and third-order Yao Beast groups near the Needle Peak Mountain Range were extremely unlucky, encountering attacks from a brutal Ape and a cunning ground beast.
Whether it was groups of Yao Beasts or solitary high-level Yao Beasts, they were hunted down one by one.
The Yao Beast corpses piled up more and more.
Two days passed in a flash.
The Yao Beast corpses piled up like mountains, enough for half a month's worth of food!
Li Mu cast a spell to freeze the Yao Beast meat, put it into his Storage Pouch, and piloted the Light Cloud Spirit Boat back home.
During the flight, Li Mu unleashed his Divine Sense, carefully avoiding all potential dangers. As long as he avoided the presence of Nascent Soul True Lords in advance, the path back to the Sect was almost without danger.
"Hmm! What's going on?"
Li Mu's mind was greatly shaken. On his way back to the Sect, two hundred li away, his Divine Sense discovered Qingfeng Shangren, the Soul Transformation Old Ancestor of Qingxuan Sect, confronting a stunningly beautiful female cultivator in mid-air, saying something with an unfriendly and rather hostile tone, as if they were about to fight if a single word was amiss.
Li Mu immediately retracted his Divine Sense, not daring to probe further.
The stunningly beautiful female cultivator exuded a faint Demonic Qi, captivating and charming. Li Mu roughly guessed her identity: she was indeed a transformed great fox Yao.
Upon discovering the 'true identity' of the stunningly beautiful woman, Li Mu couldn't help but recall the three-tailed little fox Yao at the Wanbao Pavilion Auction last time.
Indeed!
She came looking for trouble!
Will they fight?
Should I leave the Sect to avoid it?
Li Mu frowned, falling into a dilemma.
The spiritual plants cultivated on Yue Qiong Peak were related to his Opportunity to advance to Golden Core, so he couldn't abandon them. Li Mu could only wait patiently for the outcome.
A transformed great Yao and a Soul Transformation Old Ancestor—Li Mu dared not continuously monitor them with his Divine Sense in real-time. If his 'Star Concealment' Divine Sense failed to hide from either of them, and they traced him, he would at least be severely injured if not killed.
I've got it!
A flash of inspiration struck Li Mu, and he thought of using a spiritual item to continue 'observing' the movements of the two great figures.
Li Mu controlled the Light Cloud Spirit Boat to stop, plunged his Divine Sense into the nine storage spiritual pearl, and summoned a butterfly-insect Puppet smaller than his palm.
Li Mu checked the Puppet array patterns of the butterfly-insect Puppet, attached his Divine Sense to it, and released it.
Previously, Li Mu had specifically asked Gongsun Chu for a Top-Grade Spirit Stone, cut it into dozens of small pieces, and embedded them into the array eyes of the butterfly-insect Puppet, which was enough to support it flying two to three hundred li away.
Soon, the butterfly-insect Puppet's bone wings flapped at high frequency, and with a 'whoosh,' like a rapidly flying arrow, it vanished into the sky in the blink of an eye.
The flying speed of the butterfly-insect Puppet was comparable to a fourth-order Flying Sword, and it reached the two hundred li distance in less than fifteen minutes.
Li Mu's Divine Sense, attached to the butterfly-insect Puppet, quietly approached the location where the Soul Transformation Old Ancestor and the stunningly beautiful female cultivator were confronting each other, landing on a tree branch one li away, observing their negotiation.
...
The negotiation was already nearing its end.
"Fellow Daoist Senior Jin Ling, this matter has nothing to do with this Sect. Stop pestering me here. If you don't retreat, don't blame this old man for being impolite!" Qingfeng Shangren roared with full fury.
"Heh! Old Ghost Qingfeng thinks he can get away with just a word? Not that easy! If anything happens to my child, your Qingxuan Sect can wait to be buried with him!" The stunningly beautiful woman looked at Qingfeng Shangren coldly, snorted disdainfully, and said decisively.
As soon as her voice fell, the stunningly beautiful woman's figure flickered like the wind, disappearing without a trace in front of Qingfeng Shangren.
Watching the stunningly beautiful woman leave, Qingfeng Shangren frowned in thought, then flew up, and in a blink, his figure disappeared in the direction of Qingxuan Sect.
Seeing this scene, Li Mu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The two great figures ultimately didn't fight, but the other party's threat was not fake. The hidden dangers of Sect destruction for Qingxuan Sect were not just one or two!
Li Mu immediately decided that after the Purple Yang Spiritual Mushroom and Yin Soul Fruit matured and he successfully advanced to Golden Core, he would leave the Qingxuan Sect and find an ownerless Ling Peak to cultivate spiritual plants.
As his cultivation improved, and after practicing the Star Cloud Contemplation Method, Li Mu gradually gained the confidence to leave the Sect.
Li Mu continued to pilot the Light Cloud Spirit Boat, his Divine Sense fully extended, proceeding cautiously all the way until he reached the spot where the butterfly-insect Puppet had landed, then he put it into his Storage Pouch.
Finally, before sunset, Li Mu returned to Yue Qiong Peak.
Afterward, besides receiving and delivering Artifact Refining missions, and occasionally taking the two little ones out to hunt every half month, Li Mu continued to lie low on Yue Qiong Peak.
During this period, Li Mu often had his Divine Sense extended, so he frequently discovered unexpected situations where Qingxuan Sect Disciples were ambushed by Nine Demon Sect Disciples. Unable to bear it, Li Mu would release his Flying Sword for a hundred-li rescue. At the same time, he didn't forget to use his Flying Sword to collect the Storage Pouches left by the rogue cultivators, gaining quite a lot of spoils.
The rescued Qingxuan Sect Disciples were all invigorated, full of gratitude towards the Sect, and their cohesion was unprecedented.
"Have you heard! Old Ancestor Feng has acted again. Senior Brother Zhao Cheng and the others from White Cloud Peak were rescued. This time, there were nineteen demonic cultivators ambushing them, and all of them were killed!"
"Was it Old Ancestor Feng? Last time, Lin Xuan and the others said it was Old Ancestor Ning who lent a hand!"
"No! Elder Chen has already asked the Sect Master. Old Ancestor Ning is in seclusion! How could he have time to rescue Junior Brother Lin and the others."
"Then it must have been Old Ancestor Feng who acted!"
"No matter which Old Ancestor acted, it's worth celebrating. Each time they act, they severely curb the arrogant behavior of the Nine Demon Sect Disciples. Just thinking about it makes me feel great."
"Who says no! If Senior Brother Ruo Tian and Senior Brother Yun could return from the frontier, those Nine Demon Sect Disciples wouldn't dare to show their faces and attack us!"
"Thanks to the Old Ancestor for rescuing us, otherwise I would have died long ago!"
"Yes! The Sect's kindness is beyond repayment!"
...
As more Disciples were rescued, the Inner Sect Disciples of Qingxuan Sect speculated about which Old Ancestor had acted, each filled with immense gratitude, wishing they could repay the kindness with their lives.
Qingxuan Sect, Seven Main Peaks - Qingxuan Peak, Sect Master Hall.
The Sect Master, Qingyi, along with several other Nascent Soul True Lords and Sect Elders, were also discussing this matter.
Recently, Sect Disciples had been continuously ambushed by Nine Demon Sect Disciples, which was extremely serious. However, some celebratory events also occurred: an unknown Senior acted in time to provide assistance, doing so over a dozen times, and killing more than a dozen groups of Demon Sect Disciples. Such a great deed, yet the person remained anonymous, which was truly strange.
"Senior Martial Uncle Feng said this matter has nothing to do with him. This is a good thing. If it was one of you who did it, you might as well say it!" Sect Master Qingyi looked at the Nascent Soul Elders and asked with a smile.
"Senior Brother, stop asking! If it were truly us, we would have admitted it immediately! Why would we hide our heads and tails?"
"Exactly! It's not something shameful!"
"If I did it, I would definitely keep the rogue cultivators' wealth. This style isn't mine!"
...
All the Nascent Soul True Lords shook their heads in denial. This kind of rescue mission was not a bad thing, and if it were truly them, there would be no need to conceal it.
"If it wasn't you, then who could it be! According to the locations and times of the Disciples' attacks and rescues, this person's Divine Sense cultivation is not weak! Their Divine Sense cultivation is above mine, at the very least." Sect Master Qingyi frowned, looking puzzled.
Hearing this, the brows of the Nascent Soul True Lords also furrowed.
Within the Sect, the two most likely Grand Elders—one was in seclusion healing, and the other personally denied it, stating it wasn't their doing.
However, the most likely people in the Sect were all present, and they all denied it!
So the question is!
Who rescued more than a dozen groups of Sect Disciples?
"Could it be that Junior Uncle Ye has returned and it was his doing?"
"What are you thinking! Junior Uncle Ye has already gone to Sky Profound Sword Sect, how could he possibly come back!"
"That's why! He secretly helped and dared not show his face!"
"Alright, stop bringing up Junior Uncle Ye's matter. It's a good thing overall. If the Disciples ask again, just push it onto Senior Martial Uncle Feng. Everyone, don't dwell on it anymore!" Sect Master Qingyi concluded the matter.
"However, the Nine Demon Sect has been acting more and more excessively recently. If you all have time, you might as well pay more attention to the movements within the Sect Domain. Additionally, I intend to strengthen the Sect's patrol forces, ..." Sect Master Qingyi looked at the Elders and announced.
...
Soon, the higher-ups of Qingxuan Sect made an active response to the Nine Demon Sect Disciples' disruptive incursions, dispatching a large number of patrols to the Domain controlled by the Sect.
However, all of this had nothing to do with Li Mu and did not affect his life in the slightest.
Li Mu spent most of his time hiding on Yue Qiong Peak. Occasionally, he would take the two little ones out hunting, always with his Divine Sense fully extended, carefully avoiding any potential trouble that might come his way.
Li Mu didn't care about the gratitude for 'rescuing' the Disciples being 'taken over' by Old Ancestor Feng of the Sect; he didn't care about that false reputation.
Rescuing the Sect Disciples was something Li Mu did because he couldn't stand it and detested demonic cultivators, doing it as a matter of convenience.
Li Mu didn't care about the future of Qingxuan Sect at all, as long as no one came to destroy his spiritual field or disturb his secluded cultivation.
Time flew by, and thirteen years passed.