“How did he die?”
“What happened?”
Seeing Guanxing suddenly collapse and die, the Sect Master and the others couldn't help but exclaim in shock.
Shi Banxian had just been wondering what benefits the Haoran Sect and Old Ghost Jiang would offer him.
Suddenly seeing his disciple dead, Shi Banxian was stunned.
What was going on? He was only divining the killer of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, so how did his disciple die?
“Guanxing, Guanxing…”
After snapping out of it, Shi Banxian rushed to his disciple's side.
Seeing that his disciple was indeed dead, Shi Banxian was instantly enraged.
“Fellow Daoist Shi, please accept our condolences!”
The Haoran Sect Master offered comfort. What kind of situation was this? They were looking for a killer, but before the killer was found, one of their own had died.
“I'll find out who dared to harm my disciple…”
Shi Banxian spoke furiously. Then, he took out an even larger tortoise shell from his storage bag.
He sat cross-legged, formed hand seals, and a moment later, a mass of mist appeared in his divine sense.
Seeing this mist, Shi Banxian hesitated.
He felt a heart-pounding sensation from behind the mist.
He wasn't an inexperienced youth like his disciple; he had survived until today purely by being astute.
Clearly, he and his disciple had bitten off more than they could chew today.
“Thump!”
The astute Shi Banxian knelt without hesitation:
“Senior, this junior was ignorant and disturbed you. I apologize… I swear to the Heavenly Dao, I will absolutely not seek revenge…”
Once Shi Banxian admitted defeat, the heart-pounding sensation instantly vanished.
Shi Banxian couldn't help but sigh in relief and quickly ended the divination, but he didn't open his eyes.
He continued to pretend to divine. His disciple was dead, and he couldn't afford to offend the killer either.
He couldn't just swallow this loss for nothing.
No, he had to make the Haoran Sect compensate him.
If they hadn't asked him to divine, his disciple wouldn't have died. It was all their fault.
Then, an idea struck him: he would just divine who had passed by here.
He'd find a scapegoat.
With that thought, he began divining again.
He easily divined the figure of a demonic cultivator, wreathed in black smoke.
The moment he saw this figure, Shi Banxian knew he was safe…
However, Shi Banxian didn't open his eyes; he continued his act.
“Pfft…”
From the moment Shi Banxian began his divination, the Sect Master and the others watched him intently.
Just then, they saw Shi Banxian violently spit out a mouthful of blood.
This instantly startled them. He didn't die again, did he?
But seeing that Shi Banxian was only pale and sweating, they breathed a sigh of relief.
It was good that he hadn't died.
After another long moment, Shi Banxian weakly opened his eyes:
“Sirs, I am fortunate not to have failed my mission. I found him!”
“You found him?”
“Really?”
As soon as Shi Banxian finished speaking, the Haoran Sect members couldn't help but exclaim.
Old Ghost Jiang, in particular, was so agitated his eyes were bloodshot, wishing he could flay the killer alive right then.
Shi Banxian popped a pill into his mouth and closed his eyes to recuperate for a while.
Seeing Shi Banxian's pale face, Old Ghost Jiang and the others, though anxious, still held back.
After another long moment, Shi Banxian opened his eyes, but his face remained very pale.
“A demonic cultivator, a demonic cultivator with a wolf.”
Based on the divined figure of the demonic cultivator and Jiang Xueqing's injuries, Shi Banxian directly gave his answer.
“What?”
“A demonic cultivator?”
The Haoran Sect Master and the others couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. They had never expected it to be a demonic cultivator.
“Yes, indeed a demonic cultivator. He possessed a very powerful Heavenly secrets-concealing artifact.
My disciple must have died from the backlash, and I almost succumbed myself. I only saw the demonic cultivator's figure, not his face.”
As he spoke, the sorrow on Shi Banxian's face was evident.
Seeing Shi Banxian's expression, the Haoran Sect Master and the others believed him without hesitation.
After all, his disciple was also dead, and the killer was now his enemy who had slain his disciple, so he surely wouldn't lie.
Just then, Old Ghost Jiang took a milky-white crystal stone directly from his storage bag.
The Haoran Sect members immediately recognized it as a demon-detecting stone, used to detect the aura of demonic cultivators.
Old Ghost Jiang activated it with his spiritual energy, and a moment later, the demon-detecting stone lit up with wisps of black qi.
“Indeed, there are traces of a demonic cultivator…”
The Haoran Sect Master murmured.
“Sirs, I must take my leave. I plan to find an auspicious burial site for my disciple, nestled by mountains and rivers…”
Hearing Shi Banxian's sorrowful words, the Haoran Sect Master hastily handed him a storage bag.
“Fellow Daoist Shi, this is your compensation…”
This time, the Haoran Sect Master offered double the usual compensation.
After all, his disciple had died, and he himself was injured.
It wouldn't be right not to give more.
Old Ghost Jiang also handed over a storage bag, which contained generous compensation.
Shi Banxian took the storage bag, and a quick scan with his divine sense startled him:
This compensation is extraordinarily generous! It's more than I've earned in many years in the cultivation world! Disciple, alas! Everything is fate. I can only blame you for not being able to grasp this heaven-shattering fortune. Your master will just have to enjoy it for you! Don't worry, I will perform a ritual for you so you can reincarnate into a good family in your next life.
With that, Shi Banxian took Guanxing's corpse and left the place directly.
He wouldn't concern himself with the remaining matters; he intended to find a place for seclusion to cultivate and raise his cultivation level…
After Shi Banxian left, the Haoran Sect Master and Old Ghost Jiang also departed.
Soon after, the two major sects simultaneously issued identical extermination missions.
The target was a demonic cultivator with a wolf, and the reward was extremely generous!
“The top-grade spiritual root who was robbed and defiled died?”
“Killed by a demonic cultivator?”
“Perhaps he couldn't bear the mental pressure and committed suicide?”
Many people discussed it after learning of Ye Fan's death, even suspecting suicide, with the demonic cultivator story being a mere cover-up.
However, due to the generous rewards, many still searched everywhere for the demonic cultivator with a wolf.
Of course, this was only in the Eastern Province; many still didn't dare to venture into the Northern Province.
The Haoran Sect Master was furious upon hearing these rumors, but since the person was already dead, he didn't want to pursue it further.
...
Lu Ming piloted his flying boat, returning directly to the Qingshan Sect without further delay.
As he landed at the foot of the mountain, Lu Ming couldn't help but exclaim:
“Finally, I'm back!”
Even though it was a newly joined sect, he still felt a strong sense of belonging.
“Woof woof!!”
Big Yellow also wagged its tail excitedly.
“Sigh… Big Yellow, do you think the Grand Elder will be happy if he sees all the things we brought back?”
“Woof woof!!”
Big Yellow nodded in agreement. Definitely.
Lu Ming put away his spirit boat and prepared to ascend the mountain, looking at the desolate mountain path before him as he spoke:
“I remember we collected quite a few beautiful stones. We can pave the mountain path with them. And those pretty trees, the lawn…”
Big Yellow grinned widely and nodded heartily.
Thinking about the sect after its renovation, Big Yellow couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
Rate on N.U.
