“I...”
Fei Jiujin brushed the stone debris off his body, his face flushing red as he spoke in a low voice.
He hadn't expected the stone he picked to be so flimsy.
Lu Ming looked at Fei Jiujin. “What else can you do besides eat, you brat?”
“Eat more...”
The moment Lu Ming finished speaking, Fei Jiujin replied subconsciously.
“You...”
Lu Ming choked on his words. Fine, there was really no communicating with a foodie.
Suddenly, Lu Ming's eyes narrowed. “Jiujin, you didn't eat the large blue stone, did you?”
“That's right!”
The moment Lu Ming's words landed, Big Yellow, Huang Tianbao, and the others all turned to look at Fei Jiujin with suspicion.
This kid was simply too much of a glutton, and his diet was incredibly diverse. It was hard to say he hadn't actually eaten the large blue stone.
Watching everyone's reaction from the side, Wang Defa's mouth twitched. This large blue stone was really driving this group of people crazy!
He wondered if the Grand Elder knew about this.
Fortunately, he had a high tolerance...
Faced with everyone's intense stares, Fei Jiujin was scared witless. “Everyone, I like to eat, but I'm not stupid! I don't have that kind of appetite! I really don't eat rocks...”
“Really?”
Lu Ming asked suspiciously.
“Really! I swear on my life, I, Fei Jiujin, have absolutely no appetite for rocks...”
Thud...
Huang Tianbao dragged a rock over from the side. “Try eating this then...”
Fei Jiujin looked at the large rock and was on the verge of tears. “Waaa... Third Sect Master, please spare me! I really don't eat rocks...”
Seeing Fei Jiujin's pitiful state, Lu Ming said helplessly, “Sigh... It seems he really doesn't eat rocks.”
Hearing Lu Ming's words, Fei Jiujin nodded frantically. “Yes, yes... I really don't eat rocks.”
With no other choice, Lu Ming picked another rock from the pile they had just rejected. This time, he checked it thoroughly; it was extremely sturdy.
“Old Wang, try again...”
Wang Defa didn't waste any words and began carving once more.
Bang!
At the very last stroke, the stone exploded again.
Everyone looked at each other, utterly bewildered.
“Could this stone also be too flimsy?”
Huang Tianbao scratched his head in confusion.
At this point, Wang Defa offered his analysis. “Three Sect Masters, I feel that perhaps these ordinary stones simply cannot bear the name of our Qingshan Sect...”
“Or perhaps, as long as the original large blue stone still exists, no other stone can take its place...”
He had noticed just now that when his final stroke fell, a mysterious force seemed to destroy the stone.
Hearing Wang Defa's analysis, Lu Ming and Huang Tianbao exchanged glances. Could that really be the case? In that case, they absolutely had to find the original large blue stone.
“Try again...”
Refusing to believe it, Lu Ming found another stone and had Wang Defa try once more.
Unsurprisingly, another accident occurred, and the stone exploded once again...
It seemed they really had to find the original large blue stone. Otherwise, they wouldn't even be able to put up their sect's sign. A sect couldn't function without a sign; otherwise, how would anyone know what sect they were?
If a cultivator asked them in the future, “Why doesn't your sect have a sign?” they couldn't exactly reply, “Oh, our sect's sign got lost!”
They would be laughed out of the cultivation world.
If a sect couldn't even keep track of its own sign, what prestige did it have left? How could they show their faces in public?
But they had searched the entire surrounding area and found nothing! What were they supposed to do?
Just as Lu Ming was about to order everyone to keep searching, Fu Chen rushed in from outside.
“Three Sect Masters, I suspect the thief who stole our large blue stone has come back to case the joint again!”
“Really?”
Hearing Fu Chen's words, Lu Ming, Big Yellow, and the others were overjoyed.
They hadn't expected the thief to actually return. Heaven truly always left a path open.
At the same time, they were quite furious. Did this thief really think they were pushovers?
Fu Chen nodded with certainty. “I was on lookout in a hidden spot outside the sect today, and I noticed two people passing by our entrance back and forth several times. They were acting incredibly sneaky—definitely up to no good...”
Fu Chen and the others had been furious ever since the large blue stone went missing. As a group of Golden Core cultivators, letting their sect's sign get stolen right under their noses was a massive slap in the face. Thus, they had been taking turns standing guard outside the sect lately...
During Fu Chen's watch today, he had spotted those two passing by several times. This was clearly abnormal. Thus, he concluded that these two were highly likely the thieves who had stolen the large blue stone, returning to scope out the place. Perhaps they were planning to pull off an even bigger heist this time.
Fu Chen had wanted to make a move right then and there, but he was worried he might not control his strength and accidentally beat them to death, or let them escape. That was why he had returned to report.
“Hmph, those little thieves actually dare to return...”
“Let's go! We absolutely cannot let them escape...”
With that, Lu Ming and the others quietly led their group and rushed outside.
Meanwhile, Li Busan and Li Busi had just received Ye Fan's message. They were about to get up and find another spot to continue their observation, but the moment they stood up, they froze.
Standing right in front of them was a large yellow dog, baring its teeth and glaring at them. Surrounding them were over a dozen Golden Core cultivators, all staring at them with intense fury. There was even a Nascent Soul cultivator among them.
The moment they saw Big Yellow, the two realized that the people before them were indeed from the Qingshan Sect. The nameless sect was, in fact, the Qingshan Sect.
“Beat them!”
Lu Ming shouted furiously. These damn thieves had caused them to search and struggle for so long!
“Don't hit us! I'll say everything...”
“I'll confess to everything...!”
Just as Lu Ming finished speaking, Li Busan and Li Busi's pleas for mercy rang out. Diao San and the others, who had just raised their fists, froze in surprise. These guys surrendered way too fast!
Seeing everyone's expressions, Li Busan quickly explained, “Great heroes, I was born cowardly and lecherous...”
Li Busi also chimed in, “And I was born afraid of death, lazy, and gluttonous...”
Their words nearly made Lu Ming laugh out of pure anger! With characters like that, why did they sound so proud of themselves?
But Lu Ming couldn't be bothered to argue. After all, he was the type who had to vent his anger when provoked.
“Beat them!”
They had to vent their frustration first.
Thud! Whack!
Diao San and the rest of the crowd gritted their teeth and gave the two a thorough thrashing.
“Stop hitting us! I'll talk... I'll talk...”
“I'll talk too... Please stop hitting us!”
Li Busan and Li Busi wailed and begged for mercy.
As they took the beating, they were also utterly bewildered. They didn't understand why these people had beaten them without asking a single question first. If they had just asked, the two would have gladly confessed everything.
Diao San and the others acted as if they hadn't heard their pleas and kept punching. Only when they had fully vented their anger did Lu Ming speak up:
“Stop hitting them. Let them speak...”
Hearing that they were finally being questioned, the two guards breathed a sigh of relief.
“We are men under Nine Thousand Years of the Xinghe Dynasty!”
“Yes, he ordered us to search for the Qingshan Sect...”
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