Chapter 93: Two Taels of Silver to Probe One’s Heart
Even Jiang Jiezhi, who had always been steady, let out an unkind laugh when he saw Tianji Zi appear and leave dejectedly. He turned around and said to Daoist Tiantong, “Fellow Daoist Tiantong, you have to be careful! Tianji Zi is famous for seeking revenge for the smallest grievance. He hasn’t been out of the mountain for so many years. You poked his sore spot as soon as he came out. He wouldn’t just let it go.”
Daoist Tiantong smiled faintly and said, “What do I have to fear? I dared to poke his sore spot today, so I’m not afraid of his revenge. My Heavenly Lake is not to be trifled with either…”
Jiang Jiezhi looked at him deeply after hearing the Daoist Tiantong’s words. As an old friend, he knew very well what kind of person Daoist Tiantong was. If he wasn’t absolutely confident, he wouldn’t have done such a thing.
He vaguely guessed in his heart. Could it be that the Heavenly Lake also produced a Paragon expert? Who could it be? It should be impossible for someone of the same generation as him. Then it could only be someone from the previous generation.
Every famous mountain and holy land had a deep foundation, and experts were as common as the clouds. On the surface, you might feel that these experts who often appeared in your dreams were the entire combat strength of a Holy Land.
!!
Actually, that was not the case. Behind these forces on the surface stood a huge group of elders. They were in seclusion all year round and lived deep in the mountains. They would only attack when the sect was in danger.
Every Holy Land had such experts, and so did the Heaven Mending Sect.
There were many elders in seclusion in the Grand Pure Light Cave at the back mountain of the Heaven Mending Sect. Of course, only Ye Qiu and the other peak masters knew these secrets. The others didn’t know these things at all. Even the successor of the Sect Master, Liu Qingfeng, did not know.
“Haha, I hope so.” Jiang Jiezhi shook his head and disappeared. When he reappeared, he had already entered the Land of Silence.
The originally desolate place became very lively as more and more people entered the Land of Silence.
On a mountain range in the north, Tianji Zi and the people of the Immortal Mountain gathered here.
Looking at the battle on the mountain, Tian Jizi frowned and said, “How long has this battle been going on?”
“Senior Brother, they’ve been fighting for the entire night! From the appearance of the Suanni at the beginning to the entry of the Heaven Swallowing Sparrow and the Zhuyan joining the battle later on. This battle lasted for an entire night, and there’s still no winner or loser.”
Li Changkong explained. Tianji Zi nodded and muttered, “What kind of immortal treasure can attract three Paragon beasts?”
Everyone present was puzzled. They didn’t know why Tianji Zi, who hadn’t left the mountain for a hundred years, suddenly left the mountain the moment he received the communication talisman.
Before this, Li Changkong had thought that the Holy Land would at most send a few elders to help. However, they did not expect that Tianji Zi would personally come. This really frightened them.
How could they know that the reason why Tianji Zizi came was for that mountain treasure?
Actually, he had always kept a secret and didn’t tell anyone. That was, his death tribulation had arrived. He had been in seclusion for several years but had yet to break through to the Paragon realm. He urgently wanted to break through as his life was about to be exhausted. He wanted to break this destiny.
After hearing about the mountain treasure for the first time, he obtained a very attractive piece of information from Li Changkong’s description.
That mountain treasure actually contained endless vitality. This was his true purpose for coming out of seclusion. At this moment, what he lacked the most was life source.
Originally, according to his age, his life source would not have dried up so quickly. He looked much older than Meng Tianzheng and the others because he had burned most of his life source after being obsessed with cultivating special techniques for many years. He did not have much time to slowly cultivate and settle down. He had to obtain a precious treasure and reconstruct his Supreme Body to survive the calamity.
“Keep a close eye on it! Take down this mountain treasure at all costs. I don’t care what methods you use. As long as you can obtain the mountain treasure, I can satisfy you with any reward you want.”
At this moment, Li Daoyuan suddenly said, “Senior Brother, do you still remember the peak master of Heaven Mending Sect I mentioned to you last time?”
“Hmm?” Tianji Zi frowned. He was more sensitive to the name Violet Cloud Peak than anyone else. “What’s wrong with him? Didn’t I warn you not to provoke him? The time isn’t right yet. The Heaven Mending Sect’s luck is at its peak right now. It’s not the time to fall out. Even if you want to deal with the Heaven Mending Sect, you have to wait until that old fellow Meng Tianzheng dies.”
Tianji Zi immediately reprimanded him. He especially did not want to hear about the Heaven Mending Sect. If he could not survive this death tribulation, it meant that the Immortal Mountain would begin to decline. And once he died, the Immortal Mountain would no longer have any experts who could restrain Meng Tianzheng.
Li Daoyuan was a little afraid and hurriedly explained, “No, that’s not what I meant. I’m saying that the peak master of Violet Cloud Peak, Ye Qiu, is also in the Land of Silence.”
“What?” Tianji Zi frowned, then relaxed. “Interesting. He’s also in the Land of Silence?”
Tianji Zi, who did not want to talk about this topic, suddenly became interested. He might be afraid of Meng Tianzheng, but he wasn’t afraid of Ye Qiu. He had not forgotten the trauma of being beaten up by Daoist Xuantian.
Didn’t that mean that the heavens had given him a chance to take revenge now that his disciple was here? Since Ye Qiu was Daoist Xuantian’s disciple and Daoist Xuantian was already dead, this grudge was naturally inherited by Ye Qiu.
He had also heard about Ye Qiu heavily injuring Li Daoyuan with a single strike. However, he did not take it to heart. He could kill Li Daoyuan with a single slap. His strength was nothing to him. Even if Ye Qiu could defeat him, it didn’t prove how strong he was. Furthermore, he was still so young. What kind of shocking achievements could he have?
Li Changkong took a deep look at Li Daoyuan and had an ominous feeling. Shaking his head, he explained, “Senior Brother, Ye Qiu is indeed in the Land of Silence. He appeared last night. As soon as he appeared, he cut off half of the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow’s body and severely injured it. His strength is astonishing. I feel that there has been a tremendous change compared to last time.”
“What?” Tianji Zi was shocked as soon as these words were spoken.
He was extremely clear about the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow’s strength. It was an extremely ferocious Paragon realm beast. Was Ye Qiu that fierce? He actually cut off half of the Heaven Swallowing Sparrow’s body? This was impossible. Could it be that he had already broken through to the Paragon realm?
“Hmph, it’s just a sneak attack. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell. In that situation, the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow was busy dealing with the Suanni and didn’t have the time to care about him, so it barely let him succeed.” Li Daoyuan said disdainfully. After hearing his words, Tianji Zi finally understood.
“So it was a sneak attack? Hmm… no wonder. However, even if it’s a sneak attack, to be able to heavily injure a terrifying existence like the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow with one strike, this Ye Qiu is still quite capable.”
After thinking about it carefully, Tianji Zi became even more curious. This new peak master of Violet Cloud Peak was praised by the outside world to be G.o.d-like. What kind of person was he?
“Let’s go and meet him. It’s fine if he’s really strong, but if he isn’t, hehe… then don’t blame me for being rude.” Tianji Zi said with a dark expression.
Li Daoyuan’s face lit up when he heard this. He firmly believed that as long as Tian Jizi was willing to make a move, he would definitely be able to suppress Ye Qiu.
He laughed in his heart. “Hmph, kid, just you wait. You’ll cry one day.”
Li Changkong saw Li Daoyuan’s scheming expression. He already understood what Li Daoyuan wanted to do. However, he couldn’t change anything. He could only pray that Tianji Zi could really suppress Ye Qiu.
At this moment, on the other side of the Land of Silence.
“Senior, how long do you think they can fight for?” Xiao Yi was tired after watching this battle for the entire night. The four giant beasts above were still not tired from fighting, so he could not help but complain.
Ye Qiu slowly said, “The strength of the body is endless at this level, and the recovery ability of the Supreme Body is extremely strong. Unless it’s an absolute suppression of strength, it’s very rare for a victor to be decided in a short period of time.”
Xiao Yi listened very seriously. He did not understand many things, and it was his father who taught him cultivation.
Xiao Zhan only taught him practical combat and not theory. Perhaps he didn’t understand these questions himself. His mind was relatively simple, and he only knew how to rely on brute force. What was more interesting was that even if he relied on brute force, he really made a name for himself.
This was a little magical.
“Then won’t they be tired?” Xiao Yi asked seriously. Fuyao couldn’t help but laugh when she heard this question.
Ye Qiu had an expression of “I didn’t know this person”. It was embarra.s.sing to bring this guy around.
Fuyao explained carefully, “The so-called cultivation is to nourish the body with spiritual energy to strengthen the body, create a perfect body, and be reborn. As one’s cultivation increased, the limits of their body would also increase. As long as their spiritual energy was not exhausted, there would not be a moment of weakness. The higher the cultivation level, the less such a situation would appear. This is a basic question of cultivation. Young Master Xiao doesn’t seem to be familiar with this aspect?”
“Huh? Really?” Xiao Yi scratched his head. Is this common sense? Then why didn’t I know…
Ye Qiu looked at him with disdain and regretted bringing this guy out. How embarra.s.sing! In the future, don’t say that you know me.
Fuyao covered her mouth, her eyes curved like crescent moons as she smiled sweetly. She was really amused. She also felt that it was funny. Why was such a weirdo following a powerful person like Ye Qiu? Did experts like to have a burden by their side?
At this moment, Ye Qiu’s eyes flashed when he felt a strange energy around him. He turned his two fingers and pointed his sword at Fuyao’s side.
Fuyao was shocked. She thought that Ye Qiu was going to attack her. A trace of confusion flashed across her eyes.
Rustle…
Fuyao turned around and saw an old man standing behind her. He had a three-foot-long sword in his hand and blocked Ye Qiu’s sword attack.
“Master…” Fuyao opened her mouth and looked at the old man behind her in surprise.
The person who came was none other than Jiang Jiezhi.
Fuyao turned around and looked at him, then looked at Ye Qiu. She hurriedly explained, “Senior, don’t attack. This is my master.” She said anxiously, feeling very touched.
Just now, she thought that she had said something wrong and that Ye Qiu wanted to teach her a lesson. She didn’t expect Ye Qiu to protect her instead of teaching her a lesson. She felt warm and touched.
Ye Qiu frowned and looked at the old man in front of him. He could tell that this person was very strong at first glance. His strength should be similar to his senior brother, Meng Tianzheng, who was also a peak-level Cardinal.
Just now, Ye Qiu thought that someone had launched a sneak attack and subconsciously attacked. He didn’t expect the other party to be so skilled, blocking his attack with a light strike. However, that was just a casual attack from Ye Qiu. It was normal for him to be able to block it.
It would be strange if he couldn’t block it.
“Haha… Fellow Daoist, if I hadn’t reacted in time, I would have been killed by your sword.” After a while, Jiang Jiezhi squeezed out a smile and said kindly.
Ye Qiu said humbly, “You must be Jake-Lake’s First Elder, Perfected Jiang, right? Nice to meet you. Perfected One, you easily resolved my sword energy with a light strike just now. Compared to you, my insignificant cultivation is probably a little lacking.”
The two of them exchanged pleasantries, their hearts as clear as mirrors. They roughly understood each other’s strength after probing each other with a single move.
Jiang Jiezhi was very surprised. Putting everything else aside, just Ye Qiu’s sword technique alone had indeed shocked him. He was very curious. Who was this person? Why did he have such a terrifying sword aura?
He wasn’t lying just now. If he hadn’t reacted in time, he would have been injured by Ye Qiu’s sword.
As an expert of the older generation, Jiang Jiezhi had never seen anyone who could make him feel such a threat.
Fuyao explained softly, “Master, this is the peak master of Violet Cloud Peak of the Heaven Mending Sect, Ye Qiu, Perfected Ye…”
“Heaven Mending Sect, Violet Cloud Peak?” Jiang Jiezhi was stunned for a long time. He suddenly understood why Ye Qiu had such astonishing strength at such a young age. So he was Daoist Xuantian’s disciple?
“No wonder, haha… So you’re Perfected Xuantian’s disciple. Back then, I had some interactions with Perfected Xuantian and could be considered an old friend of his. I didn’t expect the world to be so ingenious. It’s really fate for me to meet the disciple of my old friend.” Jiang Jiezhi squeezed out a kind smile and said.
The corner of Ye Qiu’s mouth twitched. This old man wants to take advantage of me?
The moment he opened his mouth, he said that he was old friends with his master, Daoist Xuantian. Wasn’t he clearly telling Ye Qiu that his seniority was higher than his?
How could Ye Qiu admit it? He immediately said, “Haha, Perfected Jiang must be joking. I’ve long heard my senior brother Meng Tianzheng mention Perfected Jiang’s reputation many times. My senior brother once said that he didn’t have many friends in his life, but you’re counted as one. Before I left the mountain, he specially told me to take care of the Jake-Lake disciples if I met them.”
Jiang Jiezhi’s mouth twitched when he heard this. He immediately understood what Ye Qiu meant.
Good lord, this kid was not bad.
It wasn’t easy for him to pull up a generation. He wanted to speak nicely, but the other party brought up Meng Tianzheng and pulled him back.
Fuyao also understood the meaning behind their words and wanted to laugh. She never thought that the immortal-like and amiable master in her memory would have such a cunning side. She also didn’t expect Ye Qiu to be able to pull the situation back under such circ.u.mstances.
To be honest, she was looking forward to Jiang Jiezhi winning. Wouldn’t she be of the same generation as Ye Qiu then? She was a little disappointed, but it didn’t matter.
“Haha… Fellow Daoist, you must be joking! Speaking of your senior brother, I suddenly remembered something. Back then, your senior brother still owed me two taels of silver for wine. It’s been a hundred years. I wonder when he will pay it back.”
Ye Qiu was stunned. There was such a thing? His senior brother doesn’t look like a stingy person. Why did he even owe him two taels of silver?
“Fellow Daoist, since you’re his junior brother, why don’t you… pay for him?”
Ye Qiu frowned. After a while, he understood what he meant.
Interesting. Is this old man testing me? Ye Qiu thought to himself and didn’t say anything. He just smiled and said, “Perfected One, don’t make fun of me. I came from a poor background and Violet Cloud Peak is famous for being poor. I’ve never had a single cent on me ever since I started cultivating. I’m not even worth two taels of silver if you sold me…”
You’re worth it! Fuyao silently shouted in her heart, but she did not make a sound.
Ye Qiu was rich. The ten thousand taels of gold that the Xiao Clan gave him last time was still in his storage jade, but how could he return the money for Meng Tianzheng?
Dream on. He could mention anything, but not money.
Violet Cloud Peak was poor. It wasn’t easy for them to have some money to improve the quality of food. How could they pay for others? Even if it was just two taels, that wouldn’t do. No matter how small a mosquito was, it was still meat. He was still worried about how to maximize the use of this money.
If he directly gave it to his disciples, they probably wouldn’t accept it. Therefore, Ye Qiu never gave it to them. He had been thinking of a good excuse to make them accept the money willingly. Wouldn’t it be great if the system gave him another ten-thousand-fold critical hit if they accepted it?
Of course, this was one of the reasons.
Xiao Yi thought that he had a chance to perform at the mention of money. He was just about to say that he had money. But he was so frightened by Ye Qiu’s glare that he quickly retreated. He couldn’t figure it out. What was wrong with these experts? They were so stingy that they couldn’t even bear to part with two taels of silver?
How could he think through this question with his simple mind?
It seemed like a matter of two taels of silver, but it was actually a test of heart from Jiang Jiezhi.
Ye Qiu smiled and continued, “If Perfected One really wants to get back these two taels, I might help you ask my senior brother when I get back.”
Jiang Jiezhi smiled and looked deeply at Ye Qiu. He already had a judgment in his heart. This person was extremely shrewd, and his strength was unfathomable. He sighed in his heart. He didn’t expect the Heaven Mending Sect to produce another peerless expert. If he could poach him over, he would definitely be able to strengthen the Jade-Lake Holy Land.
Unfortunately, after his probing just now, he already understood that this was impossible. He could tell that Ye Qiu had deep feelings for the Heaven Mending Sect. They seemed to be very united.
Jiang Jiezhi was probably the only one who could use two taels of silver to probe one’s heart. He could tell that Ye Qiu already understood what he meant. His answer had already directly responded to Jiang Jiezhi.
Two taels of silver wasn’t much. Ye Qiu could definitely take it out. But this was not just a matter of two taels of silver, but also a matter of Meng Tianzheng’s principles.
Ye Qiu refused to return it, indirectly indicating that he and Meng Tianzheng were on the same side. It did not matter if he really owed the money.
Ye Qiu then said that he would help him ask. This also showed that their relationship was very good and that they could tell each other anything.
“Haha…”
Stroking his beard, Jiang Jiezhi smiled and continued, “There’s no need. It’s just two taels. There’s no need to trouble you to ask personally.”