Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 272 - 272 271 Sending You Home Over a Thousand Miles Seeking monthly tickets at month-end

272: Chapter 271: Sending You Home Over a Thousand Miles [Seeking monthly tickets at month-end] 272: Chapter 271: Sending You Home Over a Thousand Miles [Seeking monthly tickets at month-end] Hou Niao’s heart ached with sorrow; this was the second close friend to leave him after Chong Ling Daoist, but it wouldn’t be the last.

Gently laying Xiang Zhiwen’s body down, he stood up and deeply bowed,

“Elder, I dare not speak of repaying your great kindness.

My mind is currently adrift, please allow me to defer this matter for later.”

From the depths, a single sigh resounded, and then silence enveloped the surroundings once again.

Collecting his emotions, he knew he had much to do.

His friends were gone, but his own journey was far from over.

He tidied up the scattered rocks and debris at the site, knowing that this elder had a fondness for nature and disliked the destruction wrought by humans.

Once everything was properly arranged, he wrapped Xiang Zhiwen in a long silk cloth, hoisted him onto his back, and started climbing upwards.

Two had entered, but only one emerged.

Failure to achieve a breakthrough left him alone; such is the common fate in the Cultivation World, where you can never predict what the next moment holds.

Upon exiting the cave, he didn’t return to Xionger Town but set his direction straight toward Jin City, running wildly; the trivial matters of Xionger Town would be handled by Tideng and Zhi Sun, so there were no concerns.

The busiest time had already passed.

Now there were just some loose ends, which weren’t much to worry about.

Indeed, this exploration of the Spiritual Spring was perilous, full of unforeseeable accidents.

Xiang Zhiwen had been indeed careless, but even with the skinchanger in Jin City disguising itself as Zheng Shixie, none of the higher cultivators had spotted the ruse.

One could hardly blame Xiang Zhiwen for being unprepared.

If one must be constantly wary even among one’s own sect and elders, then what future would that power hold?

The final battle was full of helplessness.

Had he foreseen everything, perhaps the outcome for Xiang Zhiwen might have been different.

He was gambling on the intervention of a powerful figure.

Ever since he entered Chicken Mountain, he felt as if he had returned to Jingyang Mountain within the Anhe Realm.

The creatures there were as friendly and peaceful as those on Chicken Mountain, which led him to an illusion—that it was the same mountain, the same person.

Not until he finally discovered the Stone Spirit Milk at the bottom of the cave did he remember that man’s words: as long as he was around, there would be a Spiritual Spring.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be too much to bring the map from Anhe here, would it?

Even though the land above belonged to different countries, who could clearly state the path of the underground Spirit Veins?

The villagers here had noted the presence of a cultivator, which might have been Zheng Shixie, but could it also have been, the blind old man?

He was uncertain and did not know if the old man was present at the time, much less whether he would lend assistance.

After all, there was no particular bond between him and the blind old man.

The old man owed him nothing.

That call before battle was a plea for the old man’s help.

He didn’t even know if the old man was there or what his attitude was, so naturally, he couldn’t tell Xiang Zhiwen that they had support, that they could afford to take their time.

Whether or not to help was for others to decide, to fight or not was up to oneself—they should not be conflated.

Therefore, at the time, both had resolved to strike a blow even at the cost of their lives, even though such a strike might be futile.

He understood Xiang Zhiwen’s thoughts.

From the moment he paused his breakthrough, he had already resigned himself to death.

For a proud Sword Cultivator, it was impossible to settle for a monotonous, mundane life for the next few decades.

There was no turning back.

He would have done the same—rather die in an attempt to slay his enemy than to live on.

That was far more important to him.

To seek benevolence and to find it, that was their destination.

Xiang Zhiwen left no last words, nor did he entrust anyone’s care to him, but he had, in fact, spoken earlier, in their conversation before the breakthrough attempt—about that newborn life.

Intuition is a critical aspect distinguishing cultivators from ordinary mortals.

Why did Xiang Zhiwen choose to talk about that before his breakthrough?

It was an involuntary concern arising from instinct—the only thing he couldn’t let go of.

Perhaps every Quanzhen Sword Cultivator would face this day, sooner or later, just a matter of time.

Such relentless running, day and night, also allowed him to rethink the entire event thoroughly.

In the end, he realized Xiang Zhiwen’s last entrustment did make sense.

Revealing the skinchanger Ghost King’s deeds would only incite brutal revenge from the radical faction within the Quanzhen Sect toward the Soul Ghosts of West Mang Mountain and nothing else.

But how could Soul Ghosts ever be completely eradicated?

As long as there are living things, birth, aging, sickness, and death, they will never be eliminated.

Moreover, how could two minor cultivators have killed a skinchanger?

A difference of two or three realms, with their abilities, made the Ghost King an immortal entity.

How could one explain this?

Having thought it all through, while passing through Quanzhen governance in Shan Country, he used the sect’s communication system to broadcast the death of Xiang Zhiwen.

The news spread rapidly, and before he reached Jin City, Feng Yaochen, Li Jingxi, Dou Gong had already caught up with him.

Others, learning the news sooner or later, were en route as well.

A few alternated carrying Xiang Zhiwen towards Jin City, signaling their respect for this brother.

During their six years in Yinling, every Patrol had received help from him, yet today, they had no choice but to see him through his last journey.

Thus, in a relay, a dozen days after leaving Chicken Mountain, Hou Niao arrived in Jin City with Xiang Zhiwen on his back; by now, he was accompanied by dozens of others.

Not only were there current Yinling Patrols, but also former Patrols who had been transferred elsewhere.

With Xiang Zhiwen’s generous and broad-minded temperament, he had no shortage of friends.

Most of them were disciples from Bridge Connection and Fasting; occasionally, there were a few Upper Cultivators from the Tongxuan Realm among them.

The Cultivation World is a ruthless circle where everyone focuses on their own cultivation, and it’s a world that cools once you’re gone.

To have so many come to see him off at the end of his path, Xiang Zhiwen could rest in peace.

Xiang Zhiwen’s body was sent to Mu Shuai’s residence, which had a dedicated uncle in charge of verifying deaths.

Not every cultivator received such treatment; most who died adventuring or failed a breakthrough were simply categorized as missing and slowly forgotten.

The verdict was quickly reached, as it couldn’t be hidden from anyone: the Purple Mansion was shattered, beyond repair—a common accident during the breakthrough to Tongxuan.

Since the Purple Mansion is rarely attacked from the outside, the Dantian, Sea of Consciousness, and Purple Mansion are the areas most prone to accidents during a cultivator’s breakthrough.

As an accompanying party, Hou Niao also underwent a brief inquiry, a necessary formality that took only a few simple words.

The uncle’s questions were superficial, and Hou Niao’s answers were perfunctory; some things in the Cultivation World are self-evident, and anyone could face them.

For this group, the real trouble lay in how to handle Xiang Zhiwen’s affairs after his passing.

Although the Xiang Family didn’t count as prominent in Jin City, there were still a few family members who needed to be properly dealt with.

Apart from the truly isolated and lonely, such matters are typically handled by fellow disciples.

If one is unlucky, a cultivator might end up bearing many such burdens—not a problem financially, but the psychological weight is not easily shaken off.

The higher you climb, the more abound!