Chapter 350: Chapter 349: Eradicating Root and Branch
’A gift, right after the New Year!’
Feeling the Evil Qi harvested in the Five Thunders Order and the formation of a new Thunder Seed, Gu Zhao nodded in satisfaction.
Ever since he killed the Netherfire Sect Leader, he had barely acted personally. The members of Daluo Palace hadn’t fought any major battles either, and there were quite a few powerful old Daoists watching over various regions.
But thanks to Daluo Palace having now recruited thirty Daoists, everyone worked together. As a result, Gu Zhao’s progress in harvesting Evil Qi hadn’t slowed. In just two months, he had accumulated one full Thunder Seed and made significant progress on a second.
And now, the second Thunder Seed was complete, having fully condensed.
"Sect Leader!" He Feng stepped forward, embarrassed. "I am to blame. I didn’t expect our enemy to have such a powerful accomplice, and I led the Elders into danger. We nearly had a terrible accident."
"It’s alright. You’re not at fault. In fact, you’ve done us a service!" Gu Zhao patted He Feng’s shoulder.
"Huh?" He Feng was a little confused.
But Taoist Yan Ling, Taoist Qingwei, and Taoist Yuan He all understood what Gu Zhao meant.
Since Daluo Palace was established and had demonstrated its considerable power over the past year, the Demons and Ghosts in Changping Prefecture, Bai Shi Prefecture, and Qianshan Prefecture had nearly all gone into hiding, making them difficult to find.
As a result, the dozen or so old Daoists who joined later progressed in their Dao Practice much more slowly than the first members. Taoist Qingwei and Taoist Yuan He had been with them for a long time but still hadn’t achieved a Realm Breakthrough.
But by following He Feng to seek revenge, they had coincidentally run into an enemy with an accomplice possessing a thousand years of Dao Practice. And while Gu Zhao and Taoist Yan Ling had made the greatest contributions to the battle, the others had also reaped significant benefits.
At the same time, Gu Zhao also received some unexpected news: Red Moon Valley of the Southern Border and Thousand Peaks Mountain of Qinglan Prefecture were connected by marriage.
Qinglan Prefecture was one of the northern prefecture cities of Yazhou. It lay east of Celestial Spring Prefecture, bordered Wuya Ridge to the north, and shared a border with Yongzhou to the northeast. To the southeast, past Qi Yuan Prefecture, lay the sea. It was actually separated from the Hundred Thousand Mountains to the south by two or three prefectures, so it wasn’t really on the border of the Central Plains.
Gu Zhao looked at Huang Yuan and He Feng. "Do you know of Red Moon Valley and Thousand Peaks Mountain?"
He Feng shook his head. "I’ve never been to Yazhou. I only know of Snow God Mountain, which stands guard on Yazhou’s border. Its cliffs are a thousand fathoms high, its peaks are covered in snow year-round, and it looks down upon the Hundred Thousand Mountains of the Southern Border."
Huang Yuan, however, thought for a moment. "Thousand Peaks Mountain is on the border between Qinglan Prefecture and Celestial Spring Prefecture; it’s a spur of the Wuya Ridge. I’d heard before that there’s an incredibly powerful Wolf Demon there who loves to eat people. But since it never attacks counties or prefectures, no one has ever bothered to deal with it."
"Wasn’t Ye Xingguan at Wuya Ridge before? Sect Leader, you should ask her when you return," Taoist Yan Ling reminded Gu Zhao. A strange smile crept onto his face. "If our opponent is truly a villain, this old Daoist is willing to lead the charge."
Although Taoist Yan Ling’s Taiyi Divine Light wasn’t specialized for combat, and he had been appointed abbot of the Daluo Temple in Bai Shi Prefecture due to his mature and prudent nature, he was still very eager to continue progressing.
He had spent his recent time stationed in Bai Shi Prefecture, solidifying his foundation and assimilating his accumulated power. He was now ready to start destroying evil dens and using the resulting Evil Qi to advance his cultivation.
His encounter with the woman in red during this battle made him realize that while he was strong, he still wasn’t strong enough. Thus, after receiving his share of the Evil Qi, he had already set his sights on Thousand Peaks Mountain.
Gu Zhao shook his head and chuckled. "Clean up the battlefield. Then we’ll all return to the mountain."
...
"Thousand Peaks Mountain? Mo Qianlang?"
Back in Daluo Palace, a mostly-recovered Ye Ruyan listened to Gu Zhao’s description and nodded. "That wolf is savage and tyrannical. He loves to eat humans; he gets restless if he doesn’t eat one every day."
"But he’s not like the Ink Flood Dragon, who could devour an entire county seat in a single meal. He just goes to the nearby villages, towns, or even the roads each day and randomly snatches one or two people to take back to his mountain and eat."
"Thousand Peaks Mountain is on the border between Celestial Spring Prefecture and Qinglan Prefecture. There are many villages and towns in the area, and numerous merchant caravans travel the roads, making it impossible to avoid him. The common folk there can only pray that their turn never comes, as they have no other way to protect themselves."
Upon hearing this, He Feng snorted angrily. "No wonder. Like father, like son. That young wolf from Wuya Ridge also loved to eat people. I happened upon him just as he was about to eat a woodcutter who was with his son. I felt a moment of pity and tried to save them, but I never expected to be seriously injured by him in return."
Ye Ruyan had no recollection of a Demon with less than five hundred years of Dao Practice, but she was surprised to learn he was Mo Qianlang’s son. "Of course," she added, "as for why Mo Qianlang is involved with people from the Southern Border’s Red Moon Valley, or why his son was on Wuya Ridge all by himself... that, I don’t know."
"Do you know how many years of Dao Practice Mo Qianlang has?" Gu Zhao asked.
"I’m not entirely sure. Probably between one and two thousand years of Dao Practice, but he’s definitely not as powerful as the Netherfire Sect Leader," Ye Ruyan said after a moment’s thought. "I remember the Yazhou Spirit Court caused him some trouble years ago, and he laid low for a while after that."
Gu Zhao nodded, then turned and walked away.
In truth, the many old Daoists of Daluo Palace had already extended their reach to Yazhou’s Celestial Spring Prefecture. It was just that the various powers there weren’t especially evil, and the small amount of Evil Qi they generated wasn’t enough to warrant Daluo Palace wiping them out completely.
After the old Daoists wiped out a few of the smaller factions that enjoyed killing and eating people, the other powers in Celestial Spring Prefecture became much more docile. Even when Daluo Palace’s Daoists caught and executed some of their members for committing evil acts, they showed no intention of retaliating. Instead, they would visit with gifts to apologize.
As a result, Daluo Palace held off on establishing a branch temple in Celestial Spring Prefecture for the time being. Its members simply patrolled the region, forming an unspoken understanding with the prefecture’s major powers.
’Celestial Spring Prefecture isn’t suitable, but Qinglan Prefecture is a perfect spot.’
"Hey?" Seeing Gu Zhao turn to leave, Ye Ruyan couldn’t help but ask, "Sect Leader, what are you going to do?"
"Go to Thousand Peaks Mountain and cut the weeds at the root," Gu Zhao said calmly. "This man has committed countless evil acts. It’s time to enact justice for heaven and rid the people of this menace."
Ye Ruyan was speechless.
’To be honest, I’m a person of profound Dao Practice and wide experience,’ Ye Ruyan thought, ’but I’ve never seen a group operate like Daluo Palace. They’ve only been based in Changping Prefecture for a year, but it feels like they’ve killed more people than other factions have in decades.’
’And yet, every last one of them claims to be enacting heaven’s justice, caring for all living things, being kind-hearted, and showing compassion for the common folk...’
’Eliminating evil is a form of doing good, and the two aren’t mutually exclusive, but... their killing just feels so ferocious. It creates a bizarre contrast, as if they’re striking a fatal blow with eyes full of pity.’
But then she remembered being gravely injured, watching as the Elders of Daluo Palace joined forces to beat her enemy to death. Ye Ruyan snapped back to reality, stood up, and said, "I’ll go with you."
Gu Zhao turned back and saw Ye Ruyan rolling up her sleeves. She gave him a charming wink. "I’m familiar with the terrain around Wuya Ridge. Maybe I can sneak you into Thousand Peaks Mountain so we can catch him by surprise."
Gu Zhao thought for a moment and did not object. "Alright!"
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