Chapter 215 The Master of a Faction!
A qualified superior is one who can make his subordinates feel relied upon and trusted. No matter how difficult things are, as long as the superior steps forward, any problems and troubles will be easily solved.
The image that Jiajing has always created for Liu Quan and others is that of such a superior.
It was also the determination and goal he made in his heart when he first decided to stay in the "Black Wind Village" stronghold.
At the beginning, Jiajing was just a mortal with a broken body. In order to achieve his goal, he could only make full use of his advantages and help the Ming Immortal Sect solve problems.
Fortunately, the world of cultivation on Arcturus is a world that operates under the rules of the academy. Cultivators who follow the rules must avoid wandering in the gray area, and everyone must abide by the rules.
What Jiajing was best at was manipulating people’s hearts and minds within the rules, so he succeeded!
Be it the three Dugu brothers, Liu Quan, or even Song Xinchai who is in charge of logistics, and the newly joined Liu Yuan, they all respect him very much.
Now that he has broken through the Jindan stage, he is already the strongest person in the sect except for Dugu Ying. Even Dugu Xiong is still in seclusion and obviously has not broken through to the late foundation building stage.
It can be said that the current Jiajing has completely made up for his only shortcoming in the Ming Immortal Sect.
The overall layout of the top floor of the Heritage Pavilion is in the shape of a Chinese character “皿”.
On the left are several rows of empty bookshelves and some tables and chairs for study. In the middle is the reception room, and on the far right is Jiajing's inner room.
In the reception room, on the couch by the window, there was a small table in the middle. Jiajing and Liu Quan sat face to face.
“Swish, swish, swish.”
There was a continuous drizzle outside the window. On the small table, there were wisps of hot steam from the spiritual tea. The whole living room was indescribably peaceful and quiet.
"Come, have some tea." Jiajing pushed a cup of hot spiritual tea in front of Liu Quan.
Liu Quan came back to his senses when he heard Jiajing's voice.
"Thank you, sir." After taking a sip of the spiritual tea and putting down the teacup, Liu Quan raised his head, a slight smile appeared on his face, and said, "I haven't congratulated you yet for breaking through the Golden Core Stage."
"In this way, once the Left Protector breaks through the late stage of foundation building and reaches the Golden Core stage, my Daming Immortal Sect will have three Golden Core stage cultivators."
"Looking at the entire southeastern part of the Great Wilderness, it is an absolute overlord-level force..." When talking about the overlord-level force, the expression on Liu Quan's face became much more obvious.
But there was an unstoppable fatigue in his weathered eyes.
"Tell me about the sect's situation over the years." Jiajing spoke first.
Hearing this, Liu Quan, who was speaking, was slightly startled, and swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. Then he shook his head and laughed bitterly, saying, "Was it that obvious?"
"Sure enough, it's impossible to pretend in front of the master," Liu Quan said, taking a deep breath and exhaling, saying, "It's just right, I really can't bear it anymore..."
Then, Liu Quan told Jiajing everything that had happened in the past thirteen years, in detail.
This story lasted for three days and two nights. On the morning of the third day, the red sun was rising, and a ray of orange-red sunlight flew into the reception room from afar, illuminating the spacious reception room.
"The above is everything that has happened in the sect over the years..." Liu Quan said, exhaling lightly, then raised his head to look at Jiajing and said seriously: "Sir, Li Changqing is going to purge all the sects around Sifang City at the end of this month!"
"In fact, even if you don't come out, I'm afraid I will have to wake you up by force."
After listening to Liu Quan's story, Jiajing also understood why Liu Quan had not been able to break through to the Jindan stage after thirteen years.
There are mainly two reasons!
First of all, his mind was clouded and shackled. To put it bluntly, he couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart.
It is also because of this that Liu Quan is unwilling to have too much contact with Li Changqing. Nowadays, in the southeastern area, only the southern corner area is not controlled by the Zhongli family. The truth about the evil cultivator rebellion that broke out in the past has gradually come to light over the years.
The group of evil cultivators who fled from the Central Plains to the Great Wilderness were the work of the three lower sects of the academy, in order to fight for Nanjiao City and Sifang City.
Of course, Liu Quan didn't care about these. He had known for a long time that there was a fight among the three branches of the academy.
What he couldn't accept was that as he and Li Changqing had business cooperation over the years, he discovered that Li Changqing also had evil cultivators supporting him, and that this group of evil cultivators were still active in the entire southeast region.
As the southeastern region becomes prosperous, countless practitioners from the Central Plains have flocked in.
In recent years, many independent cultivators’ true spirits have been hunted down, and the true spirit trading business is also one of the businesses under Li Changqing’s command.
Of course there is another reason, that is, Liu Quan suspected that the evil cultivator who killed Dugu Han was under the command of Li Changqing.
If he killed Dugu Han and almost wiped out the entire sect, and then sent a Nascent Soul stage spirit pet to rescue people, it was all a good show arranged by Li Changqing from beginning to end. Doesn't that mean that he has been cooperating with his enemies all these years?
If everything was true, how could he accept Li Changqing's resources with peace of mind and make a breakthrough in his cultivation?
Of course, he also knew that Li Changqing's purpose in doing this was to make "Mr. Zhu Cong" submit to him. After all, he had seen Li Changqing's attempts to win over Mr. Zhu Cong.
However, Liu Quan did not say these words.
He didn't want his husband to feel burdened or guilty about this.
Therefore, he only told Jiajing that he suspected that the group of evil practitioners were nurtured by Li Changqing, so he could not get over the hurdle in his heart, which led to his state of mind being clouded, and he has not been able to break through the Jindan stage for thirteen years.
Some truths are typical of the situation where those involved are confused, while bystanders can see clearly. Sometimes even the parties involved can see clearly and understand the truth, but they just can't get over the barrier in their hearts.
This is Liu Quan's mentality at the moment.
The three Dugu brothers mean too much to him.
In his opinion, if he accepted Li Changqing's offer to break through his cultivation, it would be a betrayal to the three Dugu brothers.
There are some truths. In the eyes of normal people, the correct answer is to seek revenge after improving your cultivation level!
But reason told him that Li Changqing was too powerful, so powerful that he could not have the slightest desire for revenge.
Once he takes action, Li Changqing will not suffer any harm, but the consequence will be that the entire Daming Immortal Sect will be implicated.
In fact, everyone will die!
Don’t think that just because Li Changqing is optimistic about “Mr. Zhu Cong”, he will really show leniency to the Daming Immortal Sect.
The contacts over the years have made him realize that as long as Li Changqing is willing, he can support another force at any time.
In other words, the reason why the Ming Xianzong was able to board Li Changqing's ship and cooperate in business with Li Changqing was mainly because he cast a favorable eye on "Mr. Zhu Cong".
Because he was determined to get it, he was optimistic about this talent.
Normally speaking, there are all kinds of talents in the huge world of Arcturus. But Li Changqing took a fancy to "Mr. Zhu Cong". He liked the feeling of playing with other people's fate.
That is an arrogant mentality of looking down on others and controlling all the ants.
But if you offend the other party, everything will turn to ashes in a moment.
So Liu Quan was very conflicted. He had too many concerns. The most taboo for those who practice Taoism is to have unclear thoughts. Liu Quan himself knew that his current state was very dangerous, but there was no solution.
Unless Li Changqing, who caused his "inner demon", disappeared, but he knew that this was simply impossible!
At this moment, the reception room fell into silence.
The spiritual tea on the table was emitting wisps of hot steam, floating like a ribbon under the sunlight.
Jiajing's face was calm, showing no emotion. After a moment, he slowly asked, "Any news about the headmaster?"
"Three years ago, the headmaster sent someone to send back a letter from the Central Plains," Liu Quan smiled on his worried face when talking about Dugu Ying, "The headmaster is in the Central Plains, seeking medical treatment in Yanzhou."
"It was Fairy Wuqing who introduced me to a hermit master. In the letter, the master said that he had a strange encounter. First, his cultivation level had broken through to the middle stage of the golden elixir. Secondly..."
As he spoke, Liu Quan seemed to have thought of something, and a long-lost teasing look appeared in his eyes. He played with the teacup with his slender fingers, smiled, looked up at Jiajing, and said:
"He took that woman down."
Hmm? After hearing that Dugu Ying's cultivation had broken through to the middle stage of the Golden Core, Jiajing's eyes flashed with surprise, but he was not surprised.
Twenty years have passed since Dugu Ying and Fairy Wuqing went to the Central Plains. Liu Quan said that one hundred and forty years ago, when he first came to the Great Wilderness, Dugu Ying was already in the early stage of the Golden Elixir.
In other words, Dugu Yingka has been in the early stage of Jindan for nearly 150 years, so it is normal for him to have made a breakthrough now.
After all, strictly speaking, Dugu Ying can also be considered a genius.
He was just a mortal who, by chance, inherited something through a miracle and embarked on the path of cultivating immortals. Till now, he has been absolutely outstanding in every aspect.
However, when he heard Liu Quan say that Dugu Ying had captured the Fairy Wuqing, he was slightly stunned. The two of them were cursed by the "Purple Beast" at the same time, and they could hear each other's thoughts.
A man and a woman traveled to Central Plains to seek medical treatment. They had some adventures during the process, and it would have been hard for nothing to happen.
"Have you told the leader about the sect's affairs?" Jiajing asked.
"No," Liu Quan said with a long sigh, "If I tell him, based on my understanding of him, he will definitely rush back from the Central Plains at all costs and avenge the Right Protector..."
"Heh," Liu Quan chuckled, "He is just like that. He may be a good brother, but..."
As he spoke, Liu Quan looked at Jiajing and said, "I have never asked you, sir, do you think he is a qualified person to take the throne?"
Is Dugu Ying a qualified leader? The answer is undoubtedly no!
It is undeniable that Dugu Ying was able to bring a bandit stronghold to its current state and win over many people. Even Jiajing himself admired such a person.
But he is still far from being a qualified leader.
To be honest, Jiajing didn't know much about Dugu Ying. He gave him the impression that he was more like Chao Gai.
(Note: Chao Gai, from Shi Naian's novel "Water Margin", is the leader of Liangshan, but was later sidelined and gave up the top position.)
"Oh," Liu Quan chuckled. Jiajing's silence was obviously the best answer to him. "Now that things have come to this, it's better not to tell him. It will only cause more trouble..."
"What do you think?" Jiajing asked again.
"...I don't know." Liu Quan shook his head, and then there was silence.
"You can take a rest for a while. I will take care of the sect affairs and the cooperation with Li Changqing." Jiajing's tone left no room for doubt.
"Yeah." Liu Quan nodded, then stood up and said, "I should have a good sleep..."
Liu Quan twisted his neck and walked out of the hall.
But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly stopped, and then slightly turned his head to look at Jiajing who was sitting in front of the window.
"If you were the one, would you avenge the Right Protector?" Hearing Liu Quan's question, Jiajing paused for a moment while holding the teacup, then blew on the tea leaves and said, "A little impatience can ruin a big plan."
Hearing this, Liu Quan smiled, turned around, waved his hand, and left with a relaxed look on his face.
He heard the answer he wanted from Jiajing's mouth.
A lack of patience will ruin a great plan, which shows that Jiajing will avenge Dugu Han.
The next day, it was drizzling, and I was at the second floor of Zixian Bookstore in Yeshi.
"Congratulations, you have successfully broken through the Jindan stage." A smile appeared on Li Changqing's elegant and handsome face, but the teardrop mole at the corner of his eye made his smile look a little more feminine.
"Thank you," Jiajing nodded with a slightly relaxed expression, and looked at Li Changqing, "I heard from Liu Quan that the plan will start at the end of the month," Jiajing paused for a moment, and then said:
"I remember you said before that the Yellow Wind Valley, the Xiaoshu Mountain Immortal Sect, the Qingyuan Immortal Sect, and Wuqing Mountain are all pawns of the three central sects... The fundamental reason is nothing more than the plan of the academy's head sect."
"It's to make you fight each other," Jiajing looked at Li Changqing and said, "Have you thought about the explanation to the dean?"
"What can't you tell me?" Li Changqing smiled and said, "I know what you are worried about."
"The Wild Market was jointly opened by Daming Xianzong and Beast Taming Sect. The management rights of Daming were handed over to Huangfeng Valley, and only the decision-making power was retained. The Beast Taming Sect, which had the decision-making and management rights, colluded with Huangfeng Valley and undermined Daming Xianzong," Li Changqing said slowly, "From the beginning to the end, your Daming Xianzong was clean. What do you think?"
Li Changqing naturally knew that Jiajing asked so many questions not because he cared about him, but because he wanted to know whether the Ming Dynasty would be involved.
Sure enough, after hearing Li Changqing's assurance, Jiajing smiled and said, "Sir, you have a plan that is very thorough. I admire you."
"After the other sects were purged, your Daming Immortal Sect is the only one that dominates the area around Sifang City, except for those small sects that are not worth mentioning. But I still want to remind you!"
"Please speak." Jiajing said with a serious face.
"You'd better not let Liu Quan take over. Also, if you, the Ming Dynasty, are not fast enough to take over the remaining territory, don't accuse me of breaking my original promise..."
As he spoke, Li Changqing changed his sitting position to a more comfortable one, picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, then said:
"You also know that my Li family's influence is not only in the Great Wilderness, but also in the Central Plains and other places. After all the pawns of the three central veins such as the Yellow Wind Valley are eliminated, I will also place my own people in, and then start the management and transformation of the southeast!"
"You don't have much time left in the Ming Dynasty."
It was only expected. This sect in the southeast of the Great Wilderness was simply a pawn planted by the dean's lineage, in order to make the three sects unable to take care of themselves and fight each other.
Not only the sects in Sifang City, Southeast City, South Corner Region, and the surrounding areas of the other nine major cities are not sects under the jurisdiction of the three lineages' respective families.
Only by letting the three sects under his command fight each other, it doesn’t matter who wins or loses. What matters is that in this constant fighting process, the hatred and contradictions between the two sides will continue to accumulate and become irreconcilable. Only then will the dean be safe!
Three veins, nine families, these people are all aware of this, but they must fight, one is to eliminate the dean's suspicion, and the other is to strengthen themselves.
Everyone knows that in the newly opened wilderness, these sects will have to undergo a cleansing.
In Sifang City, the only sects that have not taken sides and have clean origins are the Daming Immortal Sect and the Beast Taming Sect.
But behind the Beast Taming Sect is the Beast Taming Family from the southern border of the Central Plains. There are complicated connections behind them and no one knows what their composition is.
It is better to kill someone by mistake than to let the wrong person go. Therefore, according to Li Changqing's original plan, both Daming and the beast masters must be cleared out.
So when he first started working with Li Changqing, he chose the Ming Dynasty as bait. Later, because he was optimistic about Jiajing, he casually changed the bait.
"Thanks for the reminder." Jiajing said, slowly standing up, "Da Ming will eat every grain of rice in the bowl."
He had said everything that needed to be said, and he had no interest in staying to reminisce with Li Changqing.
"I forgot to tell you," At this moment, Li Changqing's voice suddenly sounded behind him, "You have broken through to the Golden Core Stage, so I will prepare a gift for you. You should be able to receive the gift when you return to the sect."
Hearing this, Jiajing paused, but continued walking towards the stairs without changing his expression.
After leaving Zixian Bookstore, Jiajing did not stop, but walked straight towards the direction of the Daming Immortal Sect.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
From afar, before returning to the sect, I could hear several bell sounds coming from the direction of the sect, resounding throughout the world.
The sect’s alarm bell is a long-sounding alarm bell that will only sound when something big happens and everyone is summoned.
The last time the alarm bells sounded was when the right protector Dugu Han died.
Thinking of the gift Li Changqing mentioned before he left, and how he would always add, "Sir, the leader of the Daming Immortal Sect should be you," every time they saw each other, he didn't say it this time.
"Huh!" Thinking of the guess in his mind, Jiajing sped up, turned into a rainbow light, and rushed straight to the main peak hall.
At this time, more than 300 people gathered outside the hall.
Before going into seclusion in the Inheritance Pavilion, Jiajing had already gotten to know these people through his spiritual sense. They were all outer disciples recruited by the Daming Immortal Sect over the past decade, as well as some family members.
And in the front row, there were twelve young men and women standing.
Dugu Donglai, Xu Shan, Li Yu, Dugu Ao, Dugu Hongye, Dugu Qiu, Dugu Dong, Dugu Xia, Xu Shixing, Feng Sheng, Liu Wei and other twelve outer disciples were all present. Among the young men and women, the fat boy Dugu Donglai had red eyes and was crying very sadly.
The pupils of other children with the surname Dugu also turned red at this time.
Thinking about the last time Dugu Han died, although these children were present, they were not so sad. But this time they reacted like this. Jiajing vaguely guessed something in his heart and jumped into the hall.
At this time, in the main hall, the first elder Liu Quan, the second elder Song Xinchai, the third elder Liu Yuan, and the masters of the Punishment Hall were all present.
Everyone's face had a gloomy expression, and an oppressive atmosphere lingered in the hall.
Seeing Jiajing coming, several people cast their glances at him and then bowed slightly, which was a sign of respect for the great monk in the Jindan stage.
In the main hall, among the ten elders, the one with the highest cultivation level is Liu Quan, who is in the late stage of foundation building. Then comes Song Xinchai, who is in the middle stage of foundation building. Finally, the "craftsman" Liu Yuan has the lowest cultivation level, who is in the early stage of foundation building.
As for the Lord of the Punishment Hall, Xu Tian was at the ninth level of Qi training.
Jiajing took a deep breath, nodded to everyone, and went straight to Liu Quan, who was sitting on the top steps of the hall with a dull look in his eyes and an aura of decadence all over his body.
Seeing Jiajing coming, Quan seemed to react, and then slowly raised his head, looking up at Jiajing standing in front of him, his eyes red. His lips trembled, and he didn't say anything, just handed over a jade card.
Looking at the jade token handed to him, Jiajing had a solemn expression. He raised his hand to take it, probed his spiritual sense into it, and read the contents in an instant.
This jade token is a universal long-distance communication disc in the world of immortal cultivation. It can retain images, pictures, sounds, etc. By inputting spiritual energy, the content of the letter will appear out of thin air, and it can also be detected by spiritual consciousness.
Looking at the expressions on Liu Quan and the others' faces at this time, it was obvious that they had already seen the contents of the jade tablet, so Jiajing did not use spiritual energy to reveal it, but instead used his spiritual sense to check it.
To the elders of the Great Wilderness Daming Immortal Sect and Wuqing Mountain:
I am Zhao Yijian, an inner court disciple of Baima Academy. I am writing to express my respect and gratitude.
Recently, I was ordered by my master to hunt down a demon cultivator in the late Jindan stage. On the way, I passed through Yanzhou, the vast swamp and the wild forest, and happened to meet the leader of your sect, Dugu Ying, and the Wuqing Fairy of Wuqing Mountain.
At that time, the demon monks were cruel and cunning. Fortunately, two Taoist friends stepped forward to help and fought a fierce battle with the demon monks.
However, the demonic cultivators were very powerful and their methods were vicious. Although Sect Leader Dugu fought hard, he was unfortunately killed due to the disparity in strength.
The Merciless Fairy was filled with grief and anger. She disregarded her own safety and used her soul to detonate her spiritual weapon, perishing together with the demon monk. She eventually severely injured him and made it impossible for him to escape. I feel deeply guilty that I failed to help in time, resulting in the sacrifice of two fellow Taoists.
The Dugu Sect Leader and the Wuqing Fairy had a deep friendship and shared life and death. Their heroic act was truly a model for cultivators and was admirable. The two Taoists sacrificed themselves so quickly and so magnificently, not only fighting for justice, but also eliminating a great threat to the world of cultivation.
The bodies of the two Taoist friends have been sent back to the sect. I hope they will be properly buried!
I have proposed the award to the Academy and sent it to your sect. The deeds of the two Taoist friends will be reported to the world of cultivation in Arcturus to comfort the heroic spirits of the two Taoist friends and to encourage future generations to emulate the predecessors and promote the righteous way.
I write this letter in the hope that you will consider it.
Academy, Zhao Yijian!
Dugu Ying and his Taoist partner Wuqing Fairy died!
This is the key point that Jiajing learned from this letter.
The details are that Dugu Ying and his Taoist partner Wuqing Fairy encountered a disciple of an academy who was hunting down a demonic cultivator in the late Jindan stage in Yanzhou. Dugu Ying was defeated and killed. In order to take revenge, Wuqing Fairy used her own soul to detonate the magic weapon in her hand and died together with the cultivator.
It can be said that the two of them indirectly helped the disciples of the academy to capture the evil monk. This letter was sent back to the sect by someone sent by the academy.
After reading the contents of the letter, Jiajing also fell silent.
Everything happened too fast and too suddenly. Of course, thinking about what Li Changqing said before, Jiajing knew that Dugu Ying's death was not an accident, but a deliberate murder!
Because the real situation was only known by Zhao Yijian, the disciple of the academy who was present at the time.
He is a disciple of the White Horse Academy, and is able to capture a demon cultivator in the late Jindan stage. His cultivation must also be in the late Jindan stage, or even the Yuanying stage.
Such a gifted child has not only written a special letter but also personally asked the academy for commendation, which can be said to be the utmost kindness.
At this time, if the Daming Immortal Sect and Wuqing Mountain raised doubts, would they condescend to come and explain given their cultivation and status?
Looking at Liu Quan, who was in a daze and distraught at the moment, Jiajing sighed in his heart, knowing that Liu Quan was doomed.
"Boom!!!" However, just when Jiajing was about to speak, at this moment, a violent spiritual power fluctuation suddenly emerged from the depths of the sect's back mountain.
"This spiritual power fluctuation, Jindan stage?!"
Among those present, Jiajing had the highest cultivation level, so he naturally noticed it first. This fluctuation of spiritual power was at the Jindan level.
"No, this fluctuation is abnormal, too violent, too chaotic..." But then Jiajing frowned.
Being in the same Jindan stage, he is naturally very familiar with the fluctuations of spiritual power in the Jindan stage.
"From the direction of the back mountain, it's the second in command!" At this time, Song Xinchai exclaimed.
At this moment, Liu Quan didn't care about the sadness of Dugu Ying's death. He stood up suddenly, and the others were also shocked.
Dugu Xiong?! Hearing Song Xinchai's exclamation, Jiajing was startled, and then seemed to have thought of something. Without time to think about it, the whole person turned into a red light and headed towards the back mountain of Daming Xianzong.
Seeing this, others followed suit.
"...gift." The Jindan stage cultivator flew in the air at an incredibly fast speed.
The strong wind whistled in his ears and Jiajing narrowed his eyes slightly.
The news of Dugu Ying's death that he had just learned, as well as the abnormal Jindan stage spiritual power fluctuations that Dugu Xiong had erupted in the back mountain, told Jiajing intuitively that Li Changqing's gift was not over yet.
At this time, smoke and dust were billowing in the back mountain. A huge gap appeared halfway up the mountain, and violent spiritual power was lingering.
This is where Dugu Xiong is in seclusion, and not far away is the spiritual vein of the Daming Immortal Sect.
Previously, Dugu Xiong's cultivation was at the late stage of foundation building. In the sect, his cultivation was second only to the sect leader Dugu Ying. Therefore, he was responsible for the safety of the sect, and he was responsible for maintaining and guarding the sect's protective formation.
Dugu Han is in the middle stage of foundation building. As the cultivator second only to Dugu Xiong, he is responsible for sorting out the sect's spiritual veins.
After Dugu Han died, Dugu Xiong moved to the back mountain where the spiritual vein was located to live and practice.
The main purpose is to facilitate the sorting of spiritual veins. After all, for a sect, spiritual veins are the most important.
Therefore, Dugu Xiong’s retreat has always been near the spiritual vein!
With a thought in his mind, Jiajing's consciousness extended from his forehead and entered the cave. The powerful consciousness of the Jindan stage quickly locked onto the lifeless figure in the cave.
Dugu Xiong, dead!
After investigating with his spiritual sense, Jiajing naturally understood the cause of Dugu Xiong's death in an instant. He forced a breakthrough, which resulted in the destruction of his soul.
Judging from the spiritual sense that revealed Dugu Xiong's physical condition, the spiritual energy in his body had already gathered in 210 acupoints. He had reached the critical step of gathering the sea of qi, and was only one step away from condensing the golden elixir.
In fact, at this point, one is basically stable and is only one step away from the Golden Core Stage.
In other words, a cultivator who has reached this point can be said to be a qualified Jindan stage cultivator.
Dugu Xiong's character is brave and courageous, upright and honest. He never compromises against injustice and cherishes brotherhood very much. Of course, he is also very arrogant and looks down on everyone except his brothers.
But no matter how arrogant and brave Dugu Xiong was, he would not force a breakthrough at the critical moment, which would cause his own soul to collapse directly. This was too abnormal.
Suddenly, Jiajing seemed to have thought of something, then closed his eyes, and with a movement in his mind, the huge spiritual consciousness of the Jindan period swept out in an instant, sweeping in all directions with the back mountain as the center.
This time Jiajing used all his strength, and the speed of his spiritual consciousness was so fast that he felt a slight pain in his brain. However, Jiajing did not care. Under the observation of his spiritual consciousness, everything around the Daming Immortal Sect quickly passed through his mind. Suddenly, Jiajing's eyes opened wide.
"found it!"
"...Meow." A cat's cry full of humanity and teasing sounded, and then Jiajing's body trembled violently, his whole consciousness went black, and his consciousness was actually pulled out.
In a mysterious space, Jiajing stood in darkness, and in front of him sat a black cat with green pupils and an extremely huge body, as big as a mountain.
"...Meow." The black cat lowered its head and made a low sound towards him, but Jiajing could understand what it meant.
The black cat in front of me is praising itself.
The reason why his messenger of God was able to catch up with it was because it deliberately stopped and waited for him.
Jiajing was naturally familiar with the black cat in front of him. It was the one beside Liu Quan, a spiritual pet whose cultivation had reached the Nascent Soul stage.
"...Swish." At this moment, a human figure floated in the black cat's green pupils.
It’s Li Changqing!
"Sir, do you like the gift?" Li Changqing spoke in a gentle tone.
"The three Dugu brothers are dead, Liu Quan's heart of Taoism has collapsed, and you have the highest level of cultivation in the Daming Immortal Sect. Who else but you can be the leader?"
Although he was smiling, Jiajing could see that behind this smile was the arrogance of a man who thought he was in control of everything and had no omissions in his plans, and of course, warnings and threats to him.
The consciousness of a Jindan-stage person was directly extracted from the body. Dugu Ying, who was in the late Jindan stage, could be arranged to die accidentally at any minute. Dugu Xiong, who was just one step away from becoming a Jindan, could also have his soul destroyed.
How could Jiajing not see that Li Changqing was telling himself that killing himself was not much more difficult than crushing an ant.
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!" After a while, Liu Quan and others also arrived. When they saw Jiajing standing in front of a ruined mountain, motionless and with a grim expression, everyone's heart trembled.
"Sir," Liu Quan stepped forward and said in a tone that was almost pleading, "The second in command..."
At this moment, Liu Quan no longer cared about the leader or the protector. He only had the three former leaders in his heart.
"He broke through the Jindan stage by force, and his soul was destroyed," Jiajing said, looking at Liu Quan, and said in a deep voice: "He is gone."
"Boom!" The moment Liu Quan heard Jiajing announce Dugu Xiong's death, his brain buzzed and he felt dizzy. Then he felt a tightness in his chest. The next moment, he spat out a mouthful of blood and then fell straight down.
"Big Liu!" Song Xinchai and Xu Tian were shocked and quickly hugged Liu Quan who was about to fall.
Liu Quan was trembling all over while being hugged by the two men. He was clearly in the late stage of foundation building, but at this moment he felt sore all over and couldn't even stand steadily. However, he still struggled to say something.
Tears welled up in a pair of eyes that were filled with pain and fatigue, and there was a look of grievance and grief in his eyes.
"Oh, oh, oh, ha, ha, haha..." Liu Quan took a deep breath, and then suddenly laughed angrily, "How, how could it be, haha, how could they..."
Liu Quan’s heart-wrenching cries echoed throughout the back mountain.
Three days later.
On this day, the sky was clear and clear.
Dugu Ying's body was sent back to the Daming Immortal Sect by the disciples of the academy, along with the academy's reward, a sixth-grade spiritual vein. The person in charge of this was none other than Li Changqing.
At the funeral, everyone in the Daming Immortal Sect had a layer of gloom in their hearts at this moment.
Within one day, they first received the news of the accidental death of the headmaster, and then the left protector died when his soul collapsed when he broke through the Jindan stage. Originally, when everyone learned that the fourth elder had broken through the Jindan stage, they were still looking forward to the fact that in the future there would be three Jindan stage cultivators in charge of the Daming Immortal Sect.
From now on, the disciples of the Daming Immortal Sect can walk around freely in the entire southeastern part of the Great Wilderness.
As a result, blows came one after another, and now there is only about one Jindan stage cultivator left in the entire sect.
Everyone couldn't help but look at Jiajing subconsciously.
The funerals of Dugu Ying and Dugu Xiong were grand, and the leaders of the surrounding sects, including the Huangfeng Valley, Qingyuan Immortal Sect, Xiaoshushan Immortal Sect, and the Beast Taming Sect, all came to pay their respects.
Especially Huang Feng, an old rival who had fought with the three Dugu brothers for several years and had formed countless hatreds with each other, was also sighing in the mourning hall at this moment.
Of course, he felt more grateful and jealous.
Fortunately, Dugu Ying and Dugu Xiong are both dead, otherwise the Daming Immortal Sect would have three Jindan-stage cultivators from then on, which would make him feel extremely stressed.
What he envied was why the Daming Immortal Sect, which was also born as an "immortal bandit", could produce so many Jindan-stage cultivators? Moreover, there were countless good seedlings in the sect?
Especially Jiajing, a mortal who was intercepted by Liu Lao from the Black Wind Village and picked up from the roadside. Who would have thought that he would break through to the Golden Core Stage in just over ten years?
This speed of cultivation is quite shocking even in the White Horse Academy or those major sects in the Central Plains, right?
No, even in the academy, he is definitely a top-notch genius.
Such crappy luck actually happened to the three Dugu brothers!
Of course, at this moment other people had the same thoughts as Huang Feng, from relief to jealousy, to resentment and secret joy!
It's what they deserve. How can a sect that originated from bandits have so many talents and opportunities? Can you suppress them? Now you are having a lot of fun, right? Life and death are gone, right? It's all what they deserve!
In the mourning hall, Li Changqing stood quietly by.
After all the sect leaders and family patriarchs in the southeast area had expressed their condolences, they knew it was their turn to perform.
Li Changqing took a step forward, then coughed lightly. After everyone focused their attention on him, he slowly said, "Master Dugu died in battle to protect the righteous path and help the academy disciples capture the evil cultivators. This courage is worthy of learning for all cultivators..."
After these polite words, thunderous applause followed.
Only the disciples of the Daming Sect had sad faces and said nothing, while Song Xinchai and others clenched their fists with ugly expressions.
They felt that the person in charge of this academy in Yeshi was going too far and could not help but want to reprimand him or even show him a lesson. However, they thought of Li Changqing's identity and the fact that he represented the academy, and now that the head and the left protector were dead, the Ming Dynasty had already lost power.
If at this time, it would be counterproductive to offend Li Changqing, a student of the academy, because of some words.
Therefore, even if everyone in the Daming Immortal Sect was dissatisfied at this moment, they could only force themselves to endure it.
At the funeral, Huang Feng and other sect leaders naturally noticed all of this. While they secretly criticized the Daming Immortal Sect in their hearts, they also couldn't help feeling a sense of grief for the death of the rabbit.
This is how the world is. The academy is high and mighty, and any sect is nothing in their eyes.
Today is the Ming Immortal Sect. If one day it is their turn, if someone from the academy comes, I am afraid they will be like Li Changqing, with an arrogant and condescending attitude.
Liu Quan knelt in the mourning hall, silent.
Jiajing stood aside and watched Li Changqing's performance quietly.
Everything that happened today was planned and arranged by Li Changqing.
He did not find anything new in Li Changqing. He was still the same as he had seen before, with nothing else except the arrogance engraved in his bones.
"Now that the head of the Great Ming Immortal Venerable Sect and his left and right guardians are dead, the one with the highest cultivation level in the sect is the fourth elder Zhu Cong!"
At this time, Liu Quan finally got to the point. He glanced at Jiajing while speaking, and then announced to everyone, "The Academy has decided to appoint Zhu Cong as the second-generation leader of the Daming Immortal Sect!"
"Perhaps you all already know that Mr. Zhu Cong has only been practicing for more than ten years, but he has already broken through to the Golden Core Stage. This talent is among the top geniuses even in the entire Arcturus. He deserves to be the head!"
"But the rules of the academy cannot be broken. According to the clan system, the position of the head should be chosen from the Dugu family." Li Changqing turned to look at the patriarch of the Dugu family, Dugu Ba, and asked, "Do you have any candidates to recommend?"
"We agree that Mr. Zhu Cong will succeed the position of the head of the Daming Immortal Sect." At this time, Dugu Ba, the patriarch of the Dugu family, spoke.
Seeing this scene, how could Jiajing not know that Li Changqing had already talked with the Dugu family. Otherwise, Duguba would not have given up the position of the head so easily.
"Very good!" After seeing the Dugu family's patriarch agree, Li Changqing showed a satisfied smile on his face, and then looked at Jiajing, "Sir, what do you think?"
"..."
(End of this chapter)
