That instant he laid his eyes on Yang Chen’s silhouette, Sun Hai Jing’s complexion turned bitter, as if someone had trampled on his face.
The news of the appearance of a rogue cultivator attacking the party of an outer disciple on the road connecting the Ye Xiu Manor and Nine Earth Manor would spread quickly. The party also included one servant from the Nine Earth Manor and four servants from the Ye Xiu Manor. It was certain that this news would definitely make the Pure Yang Palace angry and all of the rogue cultivators in the thousand mile circumference of the Meiqing Mountain would be thoroughly investigated.
Although he had been very careful when contacting the sixth qi layer rogue cultivator, under this sort of thorough investigation, he and Chu Heng would definitely be suspected. At that time, if they would be exposed, Chu Heng would definitely push all of the blame on Sun Hai Jing.
Once he thought of this point, Sun Hai Jing felt as if he had fallen into his own trap. Who could have thought that a sixth qi layer rogue cultivator could be incapable of overpowering a first qi layer cultivator? Even if there were five third qi layer servants on the opposite side, they were still not qualified to become an adversary to a sixth qi layer master. A difference of five stages, that was a disparity in power like a single jin to thirty-five-hundred jin, simply a difference between heaven and earth.
To travel from the edge of the mountain to the entrance of the Nine Earth Manor would still take some time. Just like an arrow had been shot after a rabbit, Sun Hai Jing crazily ran towards the Nine Earth Manor to inform Chu Heng about this news.
“Keep calm, don’t create an upheaval!”
Chu Heng glared at the panicking Sun Hai Jing and coldly snorted.
“That assassin is already dead, so there is no proof of anything, what are you afraid of?”
Only after Chu Heng raised this point, Sun Hai Jing was finally able to calm down. After Yang Chen reached the Nine Earth Manor, he also didn’t reveal anything about it right away. Only, when he looked at Sun Hai Jing, his gaze was full of resentment, but nobody was able to understand this behavior of his.
What happened after that was even more unimaginable, against this sudden provocation, Sun Hai Jing who was at the peak of the third qi layer did nothing and just quickly entered closed-door training to break through to the fourth qi layer. Moreover, according to Chu Heng’s estimation, this time it was very likely that he would break through.
“Which person dared to touch a disciple of the Pure Yang Palace at the Meiqing Mountain?”
After receiving the news of an attack on Yang Chen’s party, all of the higher ups of the Pure Yang Palace were furious. Although the YuanYing ancestors hadn’t moved, several JinDan stage experts already began to roar.
If a disciple of any sect was attacked by an outsider within the sect’s own territory, it was a slap on the sect’s face. From top to bottom, everyone was furious. The Law Enforcement Hall went all out and under the lead of a JinDan stage teacher, began to investigate everyone within a circumference of a thousand miles of the Meiqing Mountain. All of the rogue cultivators within the area were acting as if they were mourning their deceased mothers, all day, they had anxious and painful expressions on their faces under the fury of Pure Yang Palace.
“That assassin had used an illusionary spell?”
Du Qian, who was well acquainted with Yang Chen, brought Yang Chen to the Law Enforcement Hall to speak with him and get first hand information, before setting out to capture that person. At the moment, Yang Chen was sitting in front of Du Qian, while his four servants, together with the servant who led the way, were standing on the side. A qiankun pouch was placed in front of Du Qian and he was browsing through its contents one be one.
This qiankun pouch contained all of the assassin’s belongings. Aside from many crystal stones, these items also included all of the jade slips taken away by Yang Chen, as well as all of the materials divided between Shen Da and the other servants. Since Du Qian was investigating this matter, he had asked for all of these things to look for any clues about the assassin.
On one side of Du Qian, the Merit Transferring Disciple, Chu Heng, was sitting. This investigation was Du Qian’s responsibility, he was merely visiting that was all and had no say in it. All of the time he was looking at Yang Chen with an indescribable expression.
“Using a illusionary spell and a talisman tool, even if it was an eighth qi layer expert facing this, he would still get confused. My Junior Brother, how did you escape?”
For the Pure Yang Palace to find the identity of a rogue cultivator on the mountain under its control was really easy. At this moment, Du Qian had already become aware of that person’s identity.
At the same time, from the things he left behind, he had also discovered how fearsome his cultivation was, but this caused Du Qian to be unable to comprehend the exact situation. The four third qi layer servants and a fourth qi layer servant were all affected, but this Yang Chen, who had the lowest cultivation of them all, only the first qi layer, was surprisingly not influenced in the least bit.
“I am an executioner, so murderous spirit overflows from my body. It is very rarely that there is something capable of shaking my mind.”
Yang Chen smiled. He casually continued:
“If not for this killing intent, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to escape it!”
Yang Chen was speaking casually, but Shen Da and the others did not dare to show this kind of attitude. Shen Da, who had the highest cultivation among them was the first one to speak. Recalling his memories, he said:
“Indeed, an aura of death had filled the sky but we had not thought that this was from the Young Master.”
The other servants also confirmed what Yang Chen had said. Since Yang Chen was not influenced by the illusions, then getting rid of a person at the sixth qi layer was also not an impossible matter. Moreover, the assassin’s corpse had been found, his head was cleanly cut off by a blade, clearly an executioner’s way of doing things.
“My Junior Brother, surprisingly you still have this kind of skill? Pretty good!”
Du Qian’s eyes shone brightly. Not receiving any effect in the area of illusions because of strong killing intent, the more he thought about it, the more his eyes shone. He could not have thought of any such method.
“Humph, this kind of blasphemy, only after killing many people could this kind of killing intent can be condensed, are you not worried that the heavens will not tolerate this?”
If Chu Heng was only biased towards Yang Chen before, now he completely had the intention of killing him. Rather than praising Yang Chen, Chu Heng rhetorically said:
“I am a disciple of the Pure Yang Palace, not a killer like you!”
“Fellow Disciple Chu!”
Du Qian’s complexion immediately sank, he calmly stated:
“According to your words my Law Enforcement Hall’s disciples are all evil spirits, is this what you think? This opinion, is it just yours or of the entire Luminous Moon Hall?”
Even if Chu Heng had gigantic guts, he would still not dare to speak malicious words against the Law Enforcement Hall of his own sect. Just a moment ago he had spoken harsh words to suppress Yang Chen, but unexpectedly they could also be directed towards Du Qian.
“Senior Disciple Du!”
Chu Heng turned pale with fright, when the Law Enforcement Hall’s people would learn about these words of his, it could be reckoned that his life would not even have a proper ending, so he hastily explained himself:
“I was speaking to Yang Chen, he still hadn’t cultivated but killed so many people, his body is filled with an aura of death, I was just afraid that it would affect his cultivation. I did not mean to insinuate the Law Enforcement Hall.”
“As long as he does not take the initiative to kill, why does it matter if he killed many?”
Du Qian coldly snorted again, implying that he would longer look into it, but also warning Chu Heng not to say anything excessive.
“A body filled with the aura of death is not affected by illusions.”
Du Qian again repeated, when suddenly a crazy idea was born within his mind:
‘If he, an outer disciple at the first qi layer, was allowed to climb the Heavenly Stairs, would it make the other sects go crazy?’
Once this thought appeared in his mind, Du Qian did not suppress it anymore. He had even already imagined the astonished and stunned expression of the great master, Su Bei. Feeling pleased with himself, he burst out laughing.
Chu Heng wrinkled his brows when seeing Du Qian laugh so freely in front of him, he wanted to stop him, but in the end he decided against it. Although their status was about the same, right now Du Qian was investigating the matter of the attack on Yang Chen, if he forced Du Qian to turn towards him, that would not be a good thing.
“Younger Disciple Chu, since Yang Chen is already an official outer disciple, you should stop caring about the previous matters.”
Du Qian kept on freely speaking:
“Since Little Brother Yang will cultivate at the Nine Earth Manor in the future, he will need your guidance even more.”
Du Qian’s request was indeed very excessive, Chu Heng was the Merit Transferring Disciple while Yang Chen was an outer disciple, so because he had the responsibility of teaching Yang Chen, even if he could not stand Yang Chen, he could only nod his head in defeat.
After he sent off Du Qian, Chu Heng’s complexion immediately changed. Facing Yang Chen, he coldly snorted:
“Yang Chen, about the earlier arrangements, since you have already beaten a third qi layer disciple, you will still be treated as a third qi layer disciple. But, you must not go around the Nine Earth Manor, seeking people to test them. If you have something you can’t understand, just come to me.”
Saying this, Chu Heng’s body slightly leaned towards Yang Chen, without paying any attention to the servants standing behind Yang Chen, he impudently said:
“Only I can provide you with the proper guidance, so that you can pass on, do you understand that?”
After he finished speaking, regardless of Yang Chen’s attitude, he burst out laughing and directly walked out, minding his own matters and his figure disappeared in a flash, without leaving any trace.
Naturally, Shan Da and the other three also heard Chu Heng’s last words, so they felt very anxious for Yang Chen. If Yang Chen could not receive guidance from the Merit Transferring Disciple, this would mean that all of the problems he had regarding cultivation could not be resolved and at the very least his cultivation speed would be very slow.
Yang Chen smiled at Chu Heng’s words, he really wanted to slap that pompous expression on his face. He had been a Great Principal Golden Immortal, why would he need advice from a foundation stage disciple? Although all this time, he had to endure these kinds of things, seeing Chu Heng’s comical performance, he couldn’t help but shake his head sighing.
This sigh reached the ears of the servants, but they all thought it was because he would not be able to receive any teachings from Chu Heng. However, they still had great confidence in Yang Chen, since he could guide both Shangguan Feng and Wang Yuan, so maybe reaching the foundation stage was not absolutely impossible, but it will require some more time, that’s all. Moreover, he could also get those Profound Yang Fruits, so apparently the problem was not a problem at all.
No matter how, but Yang Chen had finally entered the Nine Earth Manor and also entered the ranks of Pure Yang Palace’s outer disciples. Once more, the distance between him and his master had shortened. Once he reached the foundation stage, he could pay his respects to his master.
The Hidden Pavilion of the Nine Earth Manor was the place where all of the cultivation methods for the foundation stage or lower and the recipes and tools to concoct various sorts of pills were stored. Even the experiences gained by many experts of the older generations were stored here. As long as one was from the Pure Yang Palace, it didn’t matter whether he was an outer disciple or a servant, all could access the Hidden Pavilion.
However, not everyone could enter the Hidden Pavilion when they wanted, or stay in it for how long they wanted. It would be based on the number of sect contribution points. Based on the number of contribution points one has, one would be treated in the sect, accordingly. Not only the time to stay in the Hidden Pavilion, but also the time to seek guidance from the Merit Transferring Disciple similarly demanded contribution points.
Certainly, each month the official disciples would be given their monthly allowances in the form of crystal stones. But servants don’t receive this kind of salary, only a few crystal stones. However, to gain contribution points, everyone would have to take a chore from the sect and only after completing it, would they receive them.
A sect needed many things to develop, refining pills also required many types of materials, all of these things, including crystal stones, could be exchanged for contribution points. If the contribution points were not enough, then, to earn them, one could ask for many types of hard labour in the sect, like taking care of the field where all the herbs were grown, lending help in concocting pills or purifying various types of materials and so on.
Since Yang Chen was just a newcomer, he naturally had zero contribution points. But this was not a great problem for him.
As he had joined the Nine Earth Manor, it signified that he could walk freely anywhere in the territory of the Pure Yang Palace and not have any restrictions, like he had in the Ye Xiu Manor. The surroundings also had one or two cities. Anything, as long as it was not an unusual or uncommon item, needed at the foundation stage or lower, could be exchanged in the cities.
Yang Chen had received crystal stones weighing one jin in the Ye Xiu Manor which can be exchanged for ten contribution points, enough to obtain the qualifications to remain in the Hidden Pavilion for one hour.
Inside of the Hidden Pavilion, everything was written in jade slips and not books, like in the Ye Xiu Manor. Regardless whether it was a servant or an outer disciple, all were cultivators and had spiritual awareness, which they could use to read those jade slips. Not only was using the jade slips more convenient, but they could also store a larger amount of information, at least two or three time more than books.
After entering the Hidden Pavilion, Yang Chen spread his spiritual awareness and began to look for the things he needed. This time, he was seeking the <> jade slip. This jade slip contained information about the most basic concepts of concocting pills, and two elementary recipes. Yang Chen was precisely looking for that.
After obtaining this jade slip, Yang Chen could openly ‘learn to concoct pills’, and afterwards refine the most basic pills. Then he would be able to exchange them for sect’s contribution points. If Yang Chen had a large number of contribution points, they could be exchanged for all kinds of cultivation methods and it was logical that they would help to increase his own cultivation.
Yang Chen could not help but be cautious, every sect regarded their inherited cultivation methods very highly. Before meeting his master, if Yang Chen would be considered as a spy or a person having malicious thoughts, who had to be taken care of, then he would have to walk away from the normal cultivation path. For his master, he would have to endure everything.
After looking around for half an hour, Yang Chen finally found what he was looking for. Soon afterwards, inside of the Hidden Pavilion, Yang Chen loudly screamed in excitement, which even alarmed the supervisor of the Hidden Pavilion, who was an inner disciple. He was harshly rebuked and then driven out of the Hidden Pavilion. But, everyone became aware that Yang Chen had taken the <> jade slip.
All of this was a part of his plan and once he returned to his room, he started happily laughing. From now on he could do everything openly and did not need to hide for the fear of exposing his abilities. Even if Yang Chen overstepped his bounds, in the eyes of the sect he would only be regarded as a genius with abundant cultivation potential. Everyone in the faction which he would choose should be overjoyed.