Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 417 - 417 416 Sword's Question Seeking monthly ticket at the end of the month

417: Chapter 416 Sword’s Question [Seeking monthly ticket at the end of the month] 417: Chapter 416 Sword’s Question [Seeking monthly ticket at the end of the month] After a dozen breaths, Cao De’an, unable to shake off his pursuer, turned into a red cloud in the sky, bidding farewell to this world for good.

Hou Niao turned his head to look at the silent Sword Cultivator behind him, “What’s your surname?”

The Sword Cultivator hesitated slightly but spoke nonetheless, “Shi Le.”

“Which State did you learn swordsmanship in?”

“You saved the wrong person, I am not a cultivator from the Shan Sect.

Jinxiu is vast with a hundred flowers in bloom, you don’t really think that Quanzhen Sect is the only Sword Sect, do you?”

Hou Niao felt rather headache-inducing, as he genuinely didn’t know.

According to his logic, this Shi Le should’ve been a member of the Sword Cultivators from the Shan Sect who hadn’t developed their Sword Consciousness and were unable to wield Flying Swords; whether he had turned to banditry or was wandering elsewhere, he couldn’t escape the suspicion of having defected from the Shan Sect.

Therefore, it was evident that capturing this renegade was more crucial than a standard mission, and to avoid further trouble, it was best not to make such actions too blatant; after all, this person had killed at least three Bai Shen Sect cultivators.

To treat him as a mere captive would likely cause the Bai Shen Sect to refuse to let him go.

As a good subordinate, one should handle problems upfront rather than pushing them onto their superiors.

As for this Cao De’an, it became clear through their interaction that he held disdain for the Shan Quanzhen, belonging to that part of the Bai Shen Sect which was unwilling to follow the Demon Sect Alliance’s rules; therefore, there was no pressure in killing him.

But now it seemed that his starting point had been wrong—if this person wasn’t a disciple of Quanzhen Sect at all, his actions amounted to releasing a rogue cultivator, a fact which was quite ironic given his current identity.

“Not from Shan Quanzhen?”

Shi Le smiled proudly, “In the name of the sword!”

Hou Niao shook his head with a wry smile; he had misjudged.

Inside the Quanzhen Sect, he had never encountered someone like Shi Le with such fierce swordsmanship, and what’s more, a Body Cultivation Skill that was not part of their system.

Facing a true Body Cultivator, Shi Le seemed not to be at a disadvantage at all?

He was confident he could best this man in swordsmanship, but he acknowledged his inferiority in physical strength.

He could be sure this was not the way of the Shan Quanzhen, having initially thought it was a technique learned by a renegade after defecting from the Sect.

Now, it appeared that was not the case.

With time pressing, there was not much time for detailed interrogation, so he had to make a decision.

“Can you walk on your own?”

“Yes, I’m not dead yet.”

“Then let’s go.

But let me make it clear, you killed this Cao De’an, not me.”

Shi Le nodded silently without offering an explanation or thanks and drifted away, leaving behind just a trace of Divine Sense,

“Not all who are at the Grand Canyon are rogues, we just differ in ideals.

The Shi Family of the Northern Grasslands, bearers of the Golden Bloodline—should you find the time, come visit, I’ll be your guide.”

Hou Niao pondered over this statement, not comprehending much; although he had gained a substantial understanding of the Continent’s history over the years, it was still rather superficial, only scratching the surface.

The deeper secrets were still beyond his reach given his current status.

He meticulously cleaned up the traces cleanly and swiftly left the sky.

From the faint echoes of spiritual flares in the air, he knew some interceptions were still ongoing; he needed to fabricate an alibi for not being present at the scene.

In this area, he was an old hand.

The conflict at Xiaolangdi was gradually drawing to an end, and the post-battle inspection revealed some shocking results.

The Wu Division had a total of nineteen people, six died in battle, and they killed or captured fifteen rogue cultivators.

This was almost a draw but far from perfect; of course, Cao De’an and the other two were only on the missing persons list, and he knew…

Throughout the battle, he was practically invisible.

Such inaction made him neither liked nor disliked, which was exactly the effect he wanted to achieve.

With the news summarized, the feelings were mixed.

Lv Zhaolin found him and asked, “Since Wang Daoist is responsible for observation, did you notice any trace of Brother Cao and his group?”

Hou Niao sighed, “Within the Grand Canyon, I could still pay some attention to the situation.

Once out of the canyon, with the vast sky above and no trace of the birds, it’s impossible to track five or six directions at the same time.

How could I take care of it all?

Cao Daoist, taking two others with him to pursue the enemy, represented the strongest tracking force, so naturally, he’d be my last concern.

Moreover…”

Lv Zhaolin had only asked casually and did not really suspect anything; moreover?

It was simply that his Brother Cao held too much aversion and coldness towards the Shan Quanzhen, so naturally, people didn’t want to follow him eagerly only to be met with cold indifference.

“It’s been so long, I fear their chances are slim; that sword cultivator is truly vicious.

As the saying goes, ‘Do not pursue beaten enemies.’ Ah…”

Hou Niao nodded, “I understand what you mean, Lv Daoist, but I can say for certain that, to my knowledge, I have never seen this person within Shan Sect, nor have I heard of them.

When I return, I will report to Li Biejia in person, hoping he might know something.”

Lv Zhaolin said, “That would be excellent, otherwise we would have to explain how four people fell into his hands.”

After a moment of thought, he probed, “Since the rogue cultivators have dispersed, do we rally at Red Moon Castle immediately or go down to Xiaolangdi to search for any remaining enemies first?”

Hou Niao frowned slightly, “Well then, since our injuries are greater than anticipated and we can’t be sure there are no fish that escaped the net, we will search for half an hour; we cannot afford more time.

Plus, since those below did not join the battle, we must refrain from killing unnecessarily.”

The attitude of Lv Zhaolin grew even friendlier, “Then we shall follow the observer’s word, half an hour and not a moment longer.”

His question meant that since the rogue cultivators had run off, could everyone go down and perhaps gain some benefits?

As an observer responsible for supervision, he could not simply ignore this aspect.

Hou Niao’s answer was direct: there could only be half an hour for scavenging, without excess or killing.

The merchants who dared to open shops and do business here had none with clean slates; troops passing like bandits, a single ransack wasn’t unusual, but to massacre in vengeance for one’s own substantial losses would be too much.

During their conversation, the tone was set, and for Hou Niao, whether they looted or not was inconsequential; after all, it wasn’t the Shan Sect’s taxation at stake.

Did they need to show the best side of the supervisory system to the higher-ups of the Bai Shen Sect?

And then help this country, which had a lukewarm relationship with the Shan Quanzhen, to keep growing stronger?

United from top to bottom, forming a cohesive force?

That wasn’t necessarily the case, judging by Li Chuping’s attitude.

He, too, had experienced officialdom and could discern certain nuances in the vague statements from superiors.

All the surviving Bai Shen cultivators, except him, rushed into the few buildings of Xiaolangdi.

There were many ill-gotten gains to be confiscated, which was the primary motivation for the cultivators’ desperate action.

It was difficult to judge right from wrong within these walls; having been mixed up in the cultivation world for so long, he no longer always preached the law but kept it more in his heart.

He was well aware of what wishful thinking beyond one’s capabilities could bring.

Unlike his brainless impetuosity in Jin City, when he was a minor cultivator, it was only after he truly entered this circle that he understood the enmities of the cultivation world, none greater than blocking one’s Daoist Path or cutting off one’s source of wealth.

He was no longer a minor cultivator and could no longer expect the generous forgiveness of being seen as a naive child.

The world of real cultivators was ruthlessly realistic, just as he had had to leave Lizhi Sea.

He had touched someone else’s interests.

…Riding an ox with reins around the mountain, blowing a flute across, sighing lightly in the wind.

How many seekers of fame and wealth in cultivation exhaust themselves with schemes, yet none match you.