Chapter 83 -83: In the Midst of Great Chaos, Draw Cards First
In the forest upstream of Frost Moon Lake, on a secluded river path rarely trodden by human footsteps.
A lone Fishing Man was sitting by the bank, angling in solitude.
Although the Fishing Man wore a magic artifact to conceal his aura,
the two Mountain Xiaos lurking slowly at the bottom of the water still managed to discern the outline of the other party and confirmed through their astonishing five senses that this was a mid-phase Qi Cultivation Cultivator!
The Mountain Xiaos laughed.
Even though the primary objective of their journey was to inflict harm on mortals,
...
if they could hunt one or two Cultivators without paying a significant price, they would not refuse.
Conveniently, they did not believe that a mid-phase cultivator could detect them, who had thought of the brilliant idea to dive underwater.
After all, they were late-phase demon beasts, with detection abilities far surpassing those of human cultivators of the same cultivation level. As long as they controlled the distance advantageously and remained under the water, being discovered in advance was absolutely impossible!
An ambush! Two against one! Plus, it’s late-phase against mid-phase cultivation!
With such an overwhelming advantage, how could they possibly lose!
The straight-line distance was less than a hundred meters when the Mountain Xiaos abruptly halted their approach,
fearing that getting any closer would alert their prey.
Then, the two Mountain Xiaos bent their legs slightly in unison before forcefully pushing off from the riverbed, creating a large pit at the bottom as they!
rocketed out of the water like submerged missiles, cutting through the currents toward the riverbank.
When they made their move, the Mountain Xiaos used their full strength!
They had no intention of allowing the Fishing Man to detect them and flee in advance.
Yet unbeknownst to them, the moment they stopped, Su Ping had already detected them with the help of the detection talents of the Spiritual Rats, White and Grey!
Woosh!
A deafening splash exploded from the river’s surface.
Two Mountain Xiaos, towering over three meters tall, suddenly burst out of the water in front of the Fishing Man.
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In that instant, the slightly larger Mountain Xiao abruptly realized something was amiss!
The Fishing Man was not panicked, and his spiritual power remained undisturbed!
Instead, he maneuvered the black iron rod with actions too fast for their eyes to follow, quickly pointing its tip at the head of the smaller Mountain Xiao as it lunged.
Bang!
Su Ping, holding the gun in one hand, fired, blowing the head off the smaller Mountain Xiao on the spot!
At the same time, Su Ping shook the sleeve of his other hand and threw out more than ten Thunder Fire Pearls.
Boom boom boom!
The larger Mountain Xiao instinctively curled up its limbs to shield its face, feeling intense pain all over its body from the blasts.
Fortunately, only its fur was damaged. Just as it thought the damage was insignificant, it suddenly noticed a familiar body being flung away, landing in the water.
Still in midair, the Mountain Xiao turned its head in surprise, only to see its decapitated companion’s body smash into the river, creating fresh splashes!
“No!”
Realizing something was wrong,
the Mountain Xiao roared furiously, its eyes flashing with a fierce desire to live, just as it was about to activate the secret technique in its bloodline!
Searing pain accompanied by a sound ensued!
The Mountain Xiao saw its arms, raised in front of its face, being brutally penetrated and broken by a hard object!
Then, this object tore through the Mountain Xiao’s chest hide, shredded a mass of muscle tissue, and finally broke one of its ribs before losing momentum and stopping.
Spurt!
A torrent of blood gushed out from the Mountain Xiao’s mouth and nose.
The interrupted secret technique caused a severe backlash, leaving it with no room to resist.
Yet it was once again shot in the head and, after its skull shattered,
the Fishing Man finally stopped attacking after blowing on the gun’s barrel.
“Although it’s a bit of a shame not to have tried a bare-knuckle fight, this is for the best,”
“Where an easy solution is available, it’s better to opt for the effortless method,” Su Ping said.
He summoned the Spiritual Rats White and Grey, along with the black cat and dog.
With the collective effort of the four Spiritual Beasts and Su Ping’s fishing gear and line,
it took several dozen seconds to haul up the two headless Mountain Xiaos, then they quickly segmented and packaged them to take away without spending time beheading.
Su Ping breathed a long sigh of relief.
Content with his anonymity, he returned to Frost Moon Manor.
Su Ping didn’t inform anyone that the demon beast problem had been solved.
He only went to the City Lord Mansion to report that he had found a village ravaged by a demon beast during his patrol.
This caused another stir among them.
But in less than half a day, several more caravans left Golden Sparrow City.
The Ji Family seemed to have recognized Su Ping as the respectable Inspector.
Without a word from Su Ping, aside from the earliest batch of branches that left, they did not arrange for more people to evacuate.
Su Ping would not leave the Ji Family’s loyalty unrewarded. Accepting several dozen family members to work in Frost Moon Manor was itself a message to others of his protective attitude toward the Ji Family.
This allowed the Ji Family to gain a good deal of fame and profit as Su Ping’s reputation rose.
Su Ping continued his unobtrusive development in silence, following the previous routine of inspecting the city’s defenses and boosting morale.
He even fine-tuned the position of the crossbow cannons on the city walls and shifted the catapults within one meter to the left.
You see, this kind of battlefield micro-management is not unscientific at all.
There are unparalleled generals who directly command down to a certain squad on the frontlines, even caring about how a particular trench is laid out.
Some are micro-management masters who anticipate the enemy’s predictions, while others are just novices who love to play soldier.
It was the third day at noon when Su Ping quietly dealt with the demon beast.
Just as Su Ping finished handling the assorted tasks handed to him by the manager and was planning to return to his Pot Cave Heaven for cultivation.
Su Ping suddenly felt intense spiritual energy fluctuations coming from the sky.
Su Ping slightly trembled and immediately flashed away from Frost Moon Villa, quickly arriving at the peak of the nearest, highest mountain.
Looking out from this high vantage point, Su Ping saw an Immortal Boat sparkling with golden light, wobbling as it flew toward the northeast through the Cloud Sea.
Behind that Immortal Boat, more than a dozen large green birds continuously circled and emitted beams of green light, striking the Immortal Boat.
This skirmish lasted only a few breaths.
Suddenly!
Dozens of golden Flying Swords burst forth from the Immortal Boat, colliding with the large green birds in an instant.
The green light around the bodies of the dozen or so birds shattered and their mournful cries as they fell from the sky even reached the summit where Su Ping was.
After releasing a surge of golden Flying Swords, the Immortal Boat did not pursue further; instead, it quickly accelerated, taking the opportunity to vanish into the Cloud Sea.
The green birds did not continue their pursuit either, instead diving down to grab their wounded or dead companions before leaving in the opposite direction.
“Wasn’t that Immortal Boat just now the Inspection Envoy’s boat of the Inner Sect Disciple with the three swords on his back?”
“It looks like they were chasing a demon beast but ended up being chased by it instead?”
“I always feel that it’s not as simple as a few slipping through the front lines.”
Su Ping released his grip on the storage bag that held the sniper rifle as he watched the green birds leave without seeking to vent their anger on the common folk around.
These green birds were among the most formidable Flying Demon Beasts in the latter period of Qi Cultivation.
A few of them, larger in size, were actually demon beasts at the peak of Qi Cultivation Perfection and considering the green beams they spat out could shake the Immortal Boat, they likely possessed a rather powerful innate Divine Skill.
“Divine Skills!”
“Compared to spells, they can be cast instantly, are more powerful, consume less energy, and are even related to the subsequent path of Foundation Establishment and beyond.”
“There’s a big difference between a Qi Cultivation Great Perfection cultivator who has mastered Divine Skills and one who hasn’t.”
“It won’t be long before I also reach the late periods of both Qi Cultivation and Body Refining.”
“With the enhancement of the Ten Directions Annihilation Body, I too should prepare to study which Divine Skill to learn in my later stages.”
“The Immortal Sect doesn’t offer many Divine Skills to the Outer Sect Disciples, perhaps because they see us, who consume mid-grade pills, as having slim chances of Foundation Establishment, unworthy of their best offerings?”
“So, if I want to obtain good Divine Skills, perhaps I can find a way to do that through the Merit Stele at Great Golden Light Temple?”
Recently, whenever Su Ping had time, he would go to the temples around Golden Sparrow City to observe the sealing Magic Artifacts.
He even checked on the status of the devout worshippers who had been praying for a long time.
Yet, he discovered no abnormalities.
It seemed that this was a consensus reached in the Immortal Cultivation World to combat the Evil Qi Tide, not seeking short-term advantages.
Su Ping returned to Golden Sparrow City, loudly proclaiming that the Immortal Sect’s Inspection Envoy was divinely mighty, steering the Immortal Boat to a great victory over the Flying Demon Beasts!
Instantly, Golden Sparrow City was revitalized, and many people, especially the common people, showed genuine smiles.
Then, a few days later, after Su Ping had completed another round of fishing, his fishing experience level smoothly increased:
[Current Fishing Level: 4 (100/2000)]
Not until then did the Chi Yuan Immortal Sect send another announcement.
It roughly stated that, thanks to the collective efforts and sacrifices of the sect’s cultivators,
the demon beasts that had scattered into the Mortal World area had been mostly eradicated.
However, all Inspectors must remain vigilant, especially in the areas ravaged by the beasts.
Some elders worried that Evil Cultivators would join forces with the demon beasts, taking advantage of the chaos to set up some malevolent arrangements.
“The elders have thought things through well, but where are the people?”
“During this period, the message I received was that in this region’s dozen or so large cities, not a single Immortal Boat has come by, and none of the Outer Sect brothers who were assigned missions has been seen.”
“Without proper cultivator leadership, are we relying on those Loose Cultivators and Martial Artists scared witless by the demon beasts to find traces of Evil Cultivators?”
After reading the announcement, Su Ping felt things were becoming increasingly unreliable.
He was more concerned about the deeper implications; knowing but still sitting idle, was this intentional, or was the Immortal Sect truly unable to spare the manpower and resources to deal with the situation?
The battle between that Immortal Boat and the Flying Demon Beasts last time might have been the greatest help the Immortal Sect could offer to this part of the Mortal Realm…
“Let it be chaotic, the greater the chaos, perhaps it’s also good for a lucky one like me!”
“Amidst the chaos, countless opportunities arise, and once split and fractured, no one will pay attention to an Outer Sect Disciple.”
“No one will notice my abnormalities either.”
“After a sudden rise, I might even be suspected of being an alter ego of some Inner Sect or True Inheritor, or perhaps an emerging disciple of a hermit.”
“After all, compared to this possibility, a disciple who has struggled for twenty years to reach the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation and then gains the opportunity to reach Foundation Establishment in a short time seems even less believable, right?”
Su Ping stood up from Frost Moon Lake, hung the net full of grass carp on his back, and started heading back.
In the outskirts, more and more convoys were converging towards Golden Sparrow City.
These were the common people from surrounding towns of Golden Sparrow City, and even those from towns far beyond.
After enduring the ravages of demon beasts, the ransacking by bandits, and even the emergence of Evil Spirits,
they, who merely wanted to survive, remembered the compassionate Immortal Master spoken of by the storytellers in their city.
They began to pack up their belongings, take the most important food, and head toward Golden Sparrow City.
The City Lord, upon receiving the reports, felt a tingling in his scalp and his hair was nearly turning white with worry.
Su Ping stated that he could provide support other than cultivation resources.
Afterwards, Su Ping returned to his Pot Cave Heaven, bathed, changed clothes, and washed his hands with hot water.
Su Ping looked at the 70 Little Green Fish and 50 Big Bluefish he had caught this time.
A thought crossed his mind to exchange them!
Su Ping received 320 Fishing Coins!
“I’ve been patient for so long, so this time with a thirty-roll, even if I hit the guaranteed minimum, I should see some golden light, right?”