Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 331 - 331 330 Bad News Arrives

331: Chapter 330: Bad News Arrives 331: Chapter 330: Bad News Arrives In the darkness of night, Bai Qingqian stood by the window, feeling melancholic.

She had just received the news that ten days ago, during the opening of the shellfish season this spring, the Crab Claw Island area in the Outer Sea was suddenly invaded by a group of tiger whales.

Three cultivators staged a desperate resistance, saving most of the shell field from damage and ensuring the mortal boat fleet was unscathed, but of the three cultivators, one died and two were injured.

The one who perished was Hou Niao, the Quanzhen Sword Cultivator she had wholeheartedly sought to befriend.

As a cultivator, although she could not yet say her heart was dead, she was undoubtedly feeling a profound sense of loss.

It was not so much about the resources she had invested; after all, they meant little in the face of a living being’s life.

What mattered most was that the Bai Family had lost an opportunity to align with the Quanzhen Sect.

And personally, she had lost a unique friend.

She had thought this friendship would last for a long time, perhaps even a lifetime.

In Mirage City, similar news was heard every year, but because she didn’t know the people involved and they were far removed from her, she never felt much about it; but now, the loss of her most important friend was an indescribable pain.

Why him?

So young and in the prime of life, full of vitality; besides, his cunning, ruthlessness, and shamelessness in combat made it hard to imagine such a fate befalling him.

At any rate, she had never really thought this friend could come to harm.

Such a person… shouldn’t death have sidestepped him?

She had spent many days in a daze since the news, with no interest in business or cultivation; she knew it wasn’t right, but she found it very hard to recover from the shock.

It made her realize that perhaps this person held an even more significant place in her heart than she had thought.

She was still waiting for the final news, as in the Cultivation World, there were too many accidents, and it was not novel for the dead to come back to life or for one’s fate to be inescapable.

The wonder of Cultivation held the possibility of turning everything around, and she still harbored a sliver of hope, wishing that the facts were not as the two returning cultivators had described.

There were sounds of clothes rustling in the courtyard, and a figure appeared in front of the window.

This was a clan member of the Bai Family in charge of gathering information in Mirage City.

Deeply rooted here for decades, while not highly ranked in cultivation realm, he had extensive connections and was adept at gathering various news, especially semi-public secrets like these.

“Miss, the situation has been largely figured out,” he said in a calm voice, completely void of emotion.

For him, this was routine, no matter who was involved, it was none of his business.

Bai Qingqian took a deep breath, striving for calmness, “Tell me, then?”

The voice came through the paper window, “Based on the current investigations, it appears to have been an accidental invasion by a group of tiger whales, with no signs of human conspiracy involved.

Such disputes over resources between the Sea Clan and humans during harvest season happen every year.

The difference is only which sea area it occurs in.

According to the scene and the descriptions of the two survivors corroborated by the fishermen, all evidence supports this.”

He paused before continuing, “It was a group of medium-sized tiger whales, with seven or eight demon tiger whales capable of shape-shifting, and a number of smaller demon whale, with the rest being common mortal whales.

They came to the Night Light Shell Field of Crab Claw Island intending to gorge themselves.

The tiger whales are indiscriminate eaters when hungry, part of that destructive group of feasting Sea Clan members.

If left unchecked, they would have caused devastating damage to the Crab Claw Shell Field, which wouldn’t recover for a decade or more.

This was the reason why the three cultivators had no choice but to fight; they had no retreat.”

“The three were caught off guard and were forced to fight on their own.

Due to their strength, Jiedu Mansion’s Lu Shilun and the boatman Zeng Ji could barely hold their own.

On the sea, with so few against so many, they stood little chance.

The Quanzhen Sword Cultivator was the strongest among them.

He slew two tiger whales in the air and chased the leading whale into the sea…

No one knows why he risked diving into the water, but upon analysis later, it was thought that he intended to kill the leader to shock the rest of the whales, as this was the only solution under the circumstances.

He never returned, and the whale group retreated abruptly after his pursuit into the sea, suggesting the leader was either slain or severely injured; otherwise, they wouldn’t abandon the shell field so easily, as it was ripe for the taking.”

The voice became low and heavy, probably also vaguely understanding the indescribable relationship between the young lady and this Quanzhen Sword Cultivator,

“Support arrived later, all being island masters from nearby islands.

They formed teams and dove into the sea, only to find the whale pod had already fled, beyond pursuit; but there were obvious traces of human cultivators at the bottom of the sea, including human blood, energy signatures, and even fragments of clothing.”

Bai Qingqian clenched her teeth, sighing in her heart.

There was no need to be so fiercely competitive, was there?

In her memory, this person’s way of fighting was not so impassioned, so much so that she hadn’t thought he was a true Quanzhen Sword Cultivator after their initial meeting.

Cunning, sordid, shameless—these were her impressions of this Sword Cultivator.

Just for a shell field, she didn’t believe he would risk his life when not all interests in the southwest belonged to the Quanzhen Sect!

Three people, one fighting desperately, the other two doing nothing; was there something else going on?

“Did the other two cultivators not play any role in it?”

From outside the window came the reply, “Jiedu Mansion’s Lu Shilun has passed the age of sixty this year.

With decades of cultivation and still not able to achieve God Sensing, his aptitude and ability are evident; Zeng Ji at the bow of the boat has reached fifty and understood his destiny, having long given up on his own Daoist path to run the family business instead—his combat ability is imaginable.

In the eyes of the Mirage City cultivation circle, neither of the two, if called upon, would likely be able to subdue a tiger whale, let alone both?

It would be a blessing if they didn’t die on the spot.

So the theory that they deliberately let it happen is rather far-fetched—at most, they were simply weak in battle, timorous and hesitant.

That is not a crime.”

“How did Jiedu Mansion deal with it?”

“What could Jiedu Mansion do?

How is it that every year doesn’t we lose a dozen or more?

This is the inevitable end for cultivators.

When they entered the Lizhi Sea, each person was prepared.

On the Quanzhen Sect’s side, there was some activity.

Their Brother Duanmu led people around the world searching for the tiger whale pod, and they’ve even put out a bounty for any information on the tiger whales.

But I fear it will be quite hard to find them.

If those Sea Clan caused trouble, they would surely flee into the deep sea, or escape to the vast Endless Ocean; such has been the case for hundreds of years—those who cause trouble in the Lizhi Sea run to the Endless Ocean, and those who offend in the Endless Ocean come to the Lizhi Sea…”

After the clansman left, the news was already comprehensive, but she still couldn’t convince herself to believe all of it; because in her memory, it’s the good people who don’t live long…

Her gaze returned to the room, lingering on a piece of armor hanging on the wall.

It was a newly acquired Thunder Attribute treasure clothing, named Thunder Clothing.

Since it was somewhat damaged, she had personally mended it.

Now, it seemed all for naught?

She had collected several such Thunder Attribute magical artifacts, not because she begrudged the Spirit Stones, but because the items remained while the person was gone, only adding to the sorrow.

She exhaled a sigh,

…Despair ties knots in my gut, the journey’s clothes still unfinished.

As the scissors drop by the chilly window, I mistake their sound for the clanging of swords!