Chapter 167: Chapter 122: A Hundred Flowers Bloom in Jiuli State (2-in-1)
Leaving the Disciplinary Hall.
Liou Yuan was still fiddling with the silver token from the Disciplinary Hall in his hand.
Pan Yang had held back all the way, but finally couldn’t hold it back anymore after leaving the hall. He lowered his voice and said to Liou Yuan, "This Law Enforcement Order cannot be given to anyone who isn’t a disciple of the Disciplinary Hall. Lao Xiuyuan took a risk giving this to you. Mr. Liou, don’t play with it, put it away quickly."
"Is that so?" Liou Yuan was taken aback for a moment, but his hands did not idle and hurriedly tucked the Law Enforcement Order into his robe.
"Alas, maybe I’m being overly cautious, maybe Lao Xiuyuan isn’t afraid of punishment at all." Pan Yang sighed with a wry smile.
Lao Xiuyuan, a genius like that, is a treasure in the eyes of the higher-ups at Five Extremes Mountain. Any punishment wouldn’t be severe.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so fearless, not even bothering to give Liou Yuan basic instructions, perhaps he didn’t care about it at all.
Still, the matter of Lao Xiuyuan giving Liou Yuan the token reminded Pan Yang of some Outer Sect rumors.
Looking back at the Disciplinary Hall, now just a silhouette, Pan Yang, in a voice just loud enough for Liou Yuan to hear, said softly, "I heard that Mr. Liou once saved Lao Xiuyuan’s life."
Liou Yuan showed a sudden understanding: "No wonder Mr. Lao’s attitude changed so much when he saw my waist token."
He used to think Lao Xiuyuan was only wary of Liou Zhen’s status, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Pan Yang’s little bits of gossip were quite accurate. It was suffocating in the library, and he began sharing his information with Liou Yuan: "Mr. Liou, do you remember that incident in Little Cyan Valley?"
"Do you still remember that Mr. Bao who brought the Precepts Team?"
About the matters in Little Cyan Valley, Pan Yang surprisingly knew it in detail.
"That old guy, of course, I remember." Liou Yuan’s lips curled up, holding a cold smile.
That old man enforced the law unfairly and favored Liou Tao. At that time, he even had a fierce verbal clash with Mr. Bao.
After that incident, Liou Yuan was always on guard against that guy’s revenge, but over a year had passed, and Mr. Bao never came to trouble him.
"I heard that right after Mr. Bao returned to the Disciplinary Hall, Lao Xiuyuan challenged him under the guise of a contest."
"He lay in bed for more than half a year and couldn’t get up."
Pan Yang’s eyes were strange when he said this.
Previously, when he heard this gossip, he didn’t think much of it.
Today, thinking about Lao Xiuyuan’s attitude towards Liou Yuan, the more he thought about it, the more something seemed off.
Most likely, Lao Xiuyuan was venting frustration on behalf of Liou Yuan.
Or rather, he was protecting his brother who remained in the sect, for the sake of the departed Liou Zhen.
"No wonder that old couch potato didn’t come to bother me." Liou Yuan laughed twice, secretly remembering this kindness from Lao Xiuyuan.
Although he did this because of his older brother, it was still a kind gesture.
Making Mr. Bao bedridden for over half a year counted as venting his anger.
"Ah, Mr. Liou is really fortunate to have a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator as a brother." Pan Yang was quite envious, but this was fate, and one could only blame oneself for not having a good brother.
With a sigh, Pan Yang urged, "Let’s go. This bounty mission has a three-month deadline. We need to hurry up."
"After finishing that task, who knows how much time will be left to find Ji Jie."
"Hmm!"
This time, Liou Yuan and Pan Yang were using the pretext of a bounty mission for evil-doers, but their main goal was to explore the Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator’s cave mansion opportunity.
But if the bounty mission could be completed, that would be for the best.
After all, failing to complete it meant facing punishment.
West of the Five Extremes Mountain, the thousand-year kingdom of Jin Dynasty stands tall.
East of the Five Extremes Mountain, the sects of Jiuli State are numerous.
With Five Extremes Mountain sitting between two regions, in contact with them both, it inevitably interacts with cultivators from these two territories.
Jiuli State is different from the Jin Dynasty.
The Jin Dynasty values imperial power, and whether commoners or cultivators, they all revere the imperial family, the Yin Family.
In the Ancestral Temple, they worship not gods or Buddhas, but golden statues of emperors from past dynasties.
Jiuli State, on the other hand, is completely opposite. This region is filled with sects, sprawling across the Jiuli land.
Various regional sects govern the mundane world together, overseeing numerous cultivators.
It’s undeniable, Jiuli State has a more comfortable cultivation atmosphere than the Jin Dynasty, more suitable for loose cultivators.
Thus, the number of loose cultivators in Jiuli State is several times that of the Jin Dynasty, occasionally producing a genius Foundation Establishment from among them.
This situation is not common in the Jin Dynasty.
For a loose cultivator in the Jin Dynasty to reach Foundation Establishment is as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Liou Yuan and Pan Yang left the Five Extremes Mountain gate, heading east. It took them three days of traversing towering mountains before successfully reaching the borders of Jiuli State.
Now they stood on a tall, densely forested mountain at the edge of Jiuli State, gazing out over the Jiuli land ahead.
The seasons had changed, and it was now the end of summer.
The oppressive heat in the air not only did not recede, but seemed to intensify.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting beams of golden light, laying a golden veil over the forest.
Some patches of light landed on the path, and occasionally, a gust of mountain wind would rustle the leaves, making the patches of light dance.
At the edge of the forest lay a farming village.
A lush old pagoda tree at the village entrance cast a cool, green shade over the village entrance.
In the village, elders sat under the tree, fanning themselves leisurely while chatting about everyday matters, with hearty laughter occasionally ringing out, echoing through the air, as children played and laughed in the yards.
Liou Yuan, with his exceptional hearing and sight, took in this leisurely scene amid the heat and remarked, "The lives of Jiuli’s people are much better than those of the Jin Dynasty."
"How do they withstand the days of the Evil Star Shift?"
