CHAPTER 18: THE BLACK MOUNTAIN SECT

Qi Yuan voiced his strange opinion.

Qi Yuan: I don't understand military affairs, nor can I handle politics. I think in such a situation, a simple approach would be the best. Kill and wreak total havoc. After I've subdued those little monsters in the Garment Tomb Forbidden Zone, I'll send them to help you.

After chatting with Jin Li for a while, Qi Yuan logged out of the game. He'd have to wait until night to deal with the monsters in the Garment Tomb Forbidden Zone, as they were more difficult to handle during the day.

Qi Yuan was mentally exhausted after staying in the game world for too long.

"I'll have to change my schedule."

He decided it was best to grind the game at night, and rest during the day.

I must clear the game faster in hopes of collecting all the Heavenly Dao Fragments. According to the Heavenly Dao class theory, Heavenly Dao itself is the best spirit item. If I use it to build my foundation, then I'll surely stand above all the chief disciples of the Five Peaks!

It's still early. I should walk the knife. Lately, I need to do it more often. It feels like it's about to develop its own mind. It might even gain intelligence in another month? So soon? Could it be connected to me comprehending the Heavenly Dao class?

He strolled along with his plain vegetable knife, lost in thought.

Once it gains spiritual intelligence, I wonder if I can use it to slay a Core Formation Master?

The thought filled Qi Yuan with anticipation.

Having refined the Spirit Refining Sutra for a long time, he was sure the knife would be extraordinary. In the short term, he couldn't break through to the Foundation Establishment realm. As such, his strength wouldn't undergo a qualitative change, but it'd be a different story with the knife.

As he wandered leisurely along the Divine Radiance Sect's main road, a group of disciples in black tight-fitting garb rushed past him. They were disciples of the Divine Radiance Sect's Golden Light Hall.

The Golden Light Hall served as the enforcement hall of the Divine Radiance Sect, overseeing affairs both within and beyond the sect. Seeing their disciples making haste toward the mountain gate, something urgent had clearly happened.

However, upon seeing Qi Yuan, they stopped in their tracks. "Greetings, Senior Brother."

Qi Yuan glanced at them, and then their leader, before nodding. "No need for formalities. Hurry along."

The leader, Zheng Jianghe, replied, "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Due to Qi Yuan's unconventional behaviour, he was hauled to Golden Light Hall several times. Hence why Zheng Jianghe was familiar with him.

Soon after, they rushed off. Watching Zheng Jianghe's retreating back, a string of text entered Qi Yuan's mind:

[This is a cultivator with a strong sense of justice. Right now, all he wants is to kill.]

Qi Yuan muttered, "I wonder what's happened at the foot of the mountain."

Feeling too lazy to walk, he sat down on a rock, letting his knife soak up the sun.

Nearby, the disciples of the Divine Radiance Sect were also murmuring among themselves, seemingly discussing why those disciples had been in such a rush.

"Why did so many disciples from the Golden Light Hall go out? What happened?"

"You didn't know? Recently, a few murder cases have been committed in the Divine Radiance Sect's territory."

"Murder cases?"

"Last night was the wedding of Xu Dashanren's son in Rong City. It should have been a joyous occasion, but, haa... by dawn, all eighteen members of his family were found murdered. Most horrifying of all was the newlywed bride—she had been violated before being killed. It was most tragic!"

"What a heinous act!"

"Such incidents have already happened three times near Rong City. A young bride was violated on her wedding night, and her husband's entire family was annihilated."

"Which villain is brazen enough to commit such crimes right under the nose of our Divine Radiance Sect?!"

"No need to guess, it's obviously those demons from the Black Mountain Sect!"

Upon hearing the Black Mountain Sect, everyone's expressions changed slightly.

The Great Shang Kingdom had three major sects: the Divine Radiance Sect, the Floating Mountain Sect, and the Moyu Sect. They were the strongest sects in all of the Great Shang Kingdom.

Yet, none of these sects dared to provoke the Black Mountain Sect. The sect, which ranked below the three major sects, was defended by a few Core Formation Masters. In terms of strength, it was clearly no match for the three major sects. However, its sect leader had a godfather called the Black Rooster Demon, a formidable demon cultivator at the mid-Nascent Soul realm. He was a rogue cultivator, vengeful over the slightest grievance and notoriously difficult to handle.

The Black Mountain Sect disciples had always behaved like obedient juniors toward the Black Rooster Demon. Taking advantage of his infamy, they became increasingly arrogant and unruly, committing countless evil deeds, causing the sect's reputation to be completely tarnished in the Great Shang Kingdom.

Unfortunately, the Black Rooster Demon was far too powerful. No sect'd dare to incur his wrath unless they were certain that they could kill him. Hence why the Black Mountain Sect behaved so brazenly.

Seeing their evil acts, the frustrated disciples of the Divine Radiance Sect could do nothing but murmur among themselves and silently reproached them. Even the disciples of the Golden Light Hall who had gone to Rong City would likely return empty-handed.

Nearby, Qi Yuan murmured, "They behaved like Chang Wei from the other world? No... their loathsomeness surpassed Chang Wei's." [1].

Soon, night fell. Qi Yuan killed a chicken and prepared some chicken soup. Having overexerted himself in the game, he felt weak and needed to replenish his energy. Of course, he shared some with Jiang Lingsu. After all, he was grateful for her jade slip, which had helped him tremendously.

"Mmm

, so delicious." Jiang Lingsu finished an entire bowl of soup; a tiny glimmer at the corner of mouth. "Senior Brother, your black chicken soup is excellent. If you can't continue cultivating to become an immortal, becoming a chef and opening a tavern wouldn't be a bad idea."

Qi Yuan glanced at her. Despite her young age, Jiang Lingsu's looks and demeanor far surpassed the so-called '98 beauties' or '00 beauties' of the previous world.

"You'd have to endorse me."

Jiang Lingsu looked puzzled. "Engross?"

The topic didn't continue, as Qi Yuan had to get back to grinding in the game.

***

The Garment Tomb Forbidden Zone was eerily silent at night. Suddenly, a pale arm emerged from the soil. It was Qi Yuan. He was now online.

He moved stealthily while carrying his giant sword. Soon, he arrived at a forest where many garments hung above the trees. They could easily be mistaken for human corpses.

Qi Yuan chose a spot with fewer garment monsters. He drew his giant sword, staying alert as he scanned his surroundings. "As expected, once night falls, their senses and connection weaken considerably. But to what extent?"

If it were daytime, the garment monsters would've detected him walking around so brazenly with his giant sword. Now, nothing happened, which confirmed their reduced perception at night.

Qi Yuan stepped forward, stabbing a bellyband with his giant sword. It shattered instantly. Looking around, he saw that the other garment monsters were still hanging from the trees, not showing any reaction.

He smirked.

So, I can quietly grind all the garment monsters in one night.

With this in mind, he moved on to a second monster, repeating the process.

[XP +200.]

Killing them was a child's play—at least until the thirtieth garment monster.

Finally, the ones hanging in the trees had some reaction, gradually waking up. Unlike the orderly organised formation in the day, they were chaotic like headless flies.

Qi Yuan thought. Time to strike!

His time had arrived.

1. Chang Wei is a well known villain in the movie Hail the Judge. ☜