Chapter 114: The Situation at Changping

"Very well. Since Junior Brother Li is so eager to play the knight-errant, the two of you shall go together tomorrow night."

The token was tossed aside, but it was not thrown toward Li Qingfeng or the Junior Sister Cen, but rather to the other side.

"Fellow Daoist Cheng, how truly imposing you are."

Song Yan reached out and caught the token with ease.

Cheng Yu sneered, having no intention of lingering further. He merely turned back to cast a gaze at Song Yan that was filled with hidden meaning.

"I hope that Fellow Daoist Song finds his time in Changping to be... satisfactory."

With that, he took a few other cultivators and turned to leave.

"Old Song!"

Li Qingfeng’s eyes lit up, but when he saw the inner-disciple robes on Song Yan, his expression shifted to one of shock.

"You... you’ve broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining?"

"About three months ago," Song Yan nodded.

Old Li chuckled, "Then I suppose I must call you Senior Brother Song now."

"Indeed. And since it will likely take you at least another half a year to obtain a breakthrough pill and reach the next stage," Song Yan said with feigned seriousness, "you’ll have to address me as Senior Brother every single day for those six months."

"Oh, get lost."

The atmosphere lightened instantly. Other disciples from the Dongyuan Sect nearby also came over to greet Song Yan. During this rotation, several inner disciples from the Dongyuan Sect had returned home, and it seemed only three had arrived in this new batch. In the eyes of the outer-sect disciples, every single inner disciple was a pillar of support. The Elders were high and mighty; even if they had the intention, they could hardly attend to the daily tasks and circumstances of the outer disciples. Having an inner disciple present made all the difference.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Li," the female disciple said, her voice choked with emotion. "Thank you, Senior Brother Song."

Song Yan waved his hand. "You should head back now."

As dusk deepened, Song and Li retreated into the room.

"Qingfeng, what is the situation in Changping really like?"

Li Qingfeng let out a long sigh. "It’s a complete mess..."

"All six major sects know that Changping is crawling with demonic cultivators, but no one wants to be the one to take the lead in striking first."

"Why is that?"

"Because Changping is not home to just demonic cultivators," Li Qingfeng explained at length. "The rogue cultivators here... are actually all evil cultivators, and they have become quite a force to be reckoned with."

"Not only that, but the demon cultivators from the Bone Abyss are also showing significant activity."

"According to what the inner-sect seniors said before, the higher-ups suspect that some evil treasure has fallen into this area, drawing all these monsters, demons, and ghosts here."

"I see..."

Song Yan nodded.

Li Qingfeng continued, "The outside world is in chaos, and the alliance of the six major sects is far from being a solid iron wall. Our situation... well, you saw it just now."

"It’s tough..."

After a moment of contemplation, Song Yan asked, "As an inner disciple of the Sheyang Sect, by what right does Cheng Yu interfere with your movements?"

"Originally, the Sheyang Sect and the Dongyuan Sect were on good terms, and the two sects had close dealings. It’s just that that fellow’s parents are both Elders of the Sheyang Sect, and they are in charge of assigning tasks for people like us..."

When Li Qingfeng reached this point, Song Yan already understood. He frowned. "Have you not spoken to the Elders about this?"

"It’s useless..."

"Their excuses are flawless."

"With Changping in such chaos, there is danger everywhere. There are no 'safe' tasks, and someone always has to take on these assignments. Our word alone isn't enough to stand on."

"At most, they’d just assign a few more people to the task and call it a day."

"The other disciples of the Sheyang Sect are actually quite decent. It is only this Cheng Yu who targets us at every turn. And those bastards from the Xuanyuan Sect who surround him..."

Li Qingfeng stopped mid-sentence, let out a soft sigh, and did not continue. He shifted the subject: "Old Song, you’ve just arrived in Changping and haven't been assigned a task yet. If your luck is bad, I’m afraid you’ll find yourself disgusted by him soon enough."

"..."

Song Yan remained silent. He was well aware of his own track record for misfortune. Since such a miserable possibility existed, it was more than likely to happen. Ever since he had picked up the Yin-Yang Pearl at the Firework Stronghold, his entire journey had been plagued by bad luck. Perhaps it was the conservation of destiny—had finding the Yin-Yang Pearl exhausted all his good fortune? He did not complain about heaven or blame others, but he began to think about how he could survive the year in Changping in peace. As long as Cheng Yu was here, he had to be on guard against the man sabotaging him in the shadows.

"..."

What a nuisance.

Thinking it over... it seemed that killing him was the simplest option after all.

Song Yan was startled by his own thought. Here in Changping, with the six sects allied, if he were to kill a fellow cultivator and even the slightest trace was discovered, he would face a grim end. Moreover, Cheng Yu's parents were both Elders of the Sheyang Sect...

"..."

What a nuisance indeed.

...

The two comforted each other and exchanged a few more pleasantries, dispersing some of the gloom before Li Qingfeng took his leave. Song Yan held a low-grade spirit stone in his hand, his internal "Qi Condensation Scroll" circulating slowly.

"Too slow."

He sighed inwardly. The spiritual energy here was already thin and turbid, making it extremely slow to refine, and the technique he practiced was also sluggish by nature. With the two factors combined, his cultivation speed was as slow as a snail.

Having barely completed his daily cultivation, Song Yan lay down fully clothed and drifted into a slow slumber. The next morning, he rose early, washed up, and sat cross-legged on his mat, consuming a Yellow Bud Pill. With the aid of the pill, his cultivation efficiency was significantly higher.

"When I return to the sect this time, perhaps it will be time to pick up the path of alchemy again..."

Soon, his basic training for the day was finished. He pushed the door open and walked toward a cluster of buildings in the county city. At this moment, many cultivators in the Yangwu Courtyard were leaving their rooms just like him, heading in the same direction. In the dim, early morning sky, several streaks of light flew in from the distance. The ordinary mortals in the city looked up, exclaiming in wonder; some even knelt on the spot, bowing and whispering prayers.

The mortals here lived in constant fear. With monsters and ghosts appearing at the slightest provocation, they were almost ready to place the cultivators guarding the city upon an altar to be worshipped. Yet, it was somewhat ironic that these mortals were accustomed to seeing cultivators walking about the city, yet they only viewed the lights in the sky as true immortals.

Seeing this, even the common people here understood that without establishing a Dao foundation, one was no different from a mere mortal. Song Yan gave a self-deprecating smile and did not stop.

In the main hall of the Lianheng Tower, Xu Ziqing and several other six-sect Elders with key responsibilities were assigning essential tasks to their respective disciples. Song Yan stood below, and among the Elders, he caught sight of Senior Cong Yuzhen, whom he had crossed paths with during the trip to North Ya Mountain.

"The six major sects are taking this quite seriously..."

Both Cong Yuzhen and Xu Ziqing were considered genius disciples of the Foundation Establishment generation among the six sects. Yet, they had still been sent here to be stationed permanently. Beyond the implications of internal "promotion," this also signaled the stance of the six sects.

Besides them, there were other familiar faces.

For instance... Shen Huai of the Xuanyuan Sect.

Seeing this man, Song Yan’s gaze turned slightly cold. It had been a long time since the events at the Silent Valley, but that did not mean he had forgotten.