In the small woods on the bank of the Yan Shui River.

The scarred Duan Jiang Long was kneeling on the ground.

Cheng Mo and the other three faced him, their expressions serious.

That young master with an arrogant face and magnificent gold-threaded brocade clothes was still laughing coldly. Beside him were six or seven young cultivators, all with unfriendly faces.

This gold-clothed young master, and the young cultivators beside him, were uniformly all mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Mo Hua, hidden and squatting in the tree, thought for a moment but still did not rashly reveal himself.

Cheng Mo was ambushed by this gold-clothed young master. Although he blocked the sword light, his blood energy was still surging. He couldn’t help but say angrily:

“Who are you all?”

The gold-clothed young master said contemptuously: “You are not qualified to know.”

Si Tu Jian’s gaze condensed, and he said deeply: “It is the Duan Jin Sect. Just now that sword energy is the Duan Jin Sect’s Duan Jin Jian Yu Jue.”

Si Tu Jian cultivated sword techniques and had some understanding of the more prominent sword dao sects within the borders of Qian Xue State.

Many distinct sword techniques, even if he hadn’t learned them, he knew a little about them.

Mo Hua, hiding in the tree, was startled.

Duan Jin Sect?

No wonder…

He just felt why that sword energy was so familiar. It turned out that what he obtained from Elder Jiang’s hand was the Duan Jin Sect’s sect-suppressing sword art—Duan Jin Jian Yu Jue.

He himself had also practiced it…

It’s just that he wasn’t a sword cultivator. The Duan Jin sword energy he had cultivated in a hurry was too weak, just like a “fake.” It was completely different from the fierce sword energy in the hand of the gold-clothed cultivator just now, so he hadn’t thought of it for a moment…

“Duan Jin Sect…”

Mo Hua’s gaze swept over the group of people led by the gold-clothed young master, his expression thoughtful.

The gold-clothed young master’s identity was pointed out, and his expression became even more arrogant.

“Oh? You recognize my Duan Jin Sect’s Duan Jin sword energy. You all have some insight.”

Yang Qian Jun snorted coldly, his gaze sharp:

“What about the Duan Jin Sect? We are doing a reward task from the Dao Ting Si, following sect orders. Could it be that you still want to forcibly snatch it?”

The gold-clothed young master sneered, “We are rewarded, aren’t we?”

He flicked his sleeve and pointed at Duan Jiang Long, saying:

“We have been staring at this evil creature for several days, already forcing him to a dead end, just waiting to capture him. We never thought that you few little brats would interfere horizontally, capture him first, and snatch our merit. You say this is not you little ghosts who don’t know propriety?”

Seeing them twist black and white, Cheng Mo cursed loudly:

“You fart! You were staring at a fart! You clearly just want to snatch merit and still try to save face… no, it’s giving that ‘face’ that looks like ‘buttocks’ a gold plating!”

The gold-clothed young master’s face turned red, his expression ashamed and angry.

He came from a noble background and was also a superior person in the sect. When had he ever received such humiliation? His gaze couldn’t help but show some cold severity.

“Little brat, you seek death!”

Cheng Mo was still not afraid. Yang Qian Jun grasped his long spear, and Si Tu Jian also said arrogantly:

“You are disciples of aristocratic families, and so are we. You have a sect, and so do we! What? You still want to kill us in this wilderness?”

The gold-clothed young master’s expression froze, and his face twitched.

He indeed didn’t dare…

If they were ordinary rogue cultivators, he could kill them. Even if the Dao Ting Si came to their door, they could just push a dog leg out to take the blame.

There were many ways to escape punishment.

But if they killed cultivators from aristocratic families, disciples of sects, then this matter would not be so easy to resolve.

Beside the gold-clothed young master, a young cultivator fawned and said:

“Young Master Jin, killing them would dirty your hand. Let us do it. Break a few of their ribs and properly humiliate them…”

“Even if they go back and report it, they are just losing face for themselves.”

Someone beside him also echoed sarcastically:

“That’s right, let these few little boys who just came out of the mountains know that you need to have eyes when you come out to mix. You can’t offend people you shouldn’t offend…”

The gold-clothed young master, who was called “Young Master Jin,” nodded and looked down, saying:

“Let’s do it this way. This young master is not a narrow-minded person…”

He lightly looked at Duan Jiang Long, who was kneeling on the ground, and snorted coldly, “Leave our ‘prey’, and then apologize to this young master. Then I can let bygones be bygones and let you leave. Otherwise…”

Young Master Jin’s smile was a little twisted, and a pale gold sharp sword energy floated around his body, “Then don’t blame me for being impolite and disciplining you on behalf of your sect…”

Cheng Mo couldn’t stand his arrogant manner and was about to scold him again, when the Tai Xu Ling suddenly vibrated. He took it out to look and saw only one word:

“Leave.”

This was sent by Mo Hua.

Si Tu Jian and the others also received it.

They looked at each other, exchanged opinions with their gazes, and all nodded slightly.

Young Master Jin also saw their orders, and his brows furrowed, “Are you all disciples of the Tai Xu Sect?”

When Cheng Mo and the others went out to do tasks, they generally wore ordinary clothes and did not wear the robes of the Tai Xu Sect.

Although Young Master Jin guessed that they were sect disciples, he didn’t know which sect’s disciples they were at first.

Cheng Mo raised his head, “That’s right, are you scared?”

Young Master Jin sneered, “Just the Tai Xu Sect. It’s not one of the Four Great Sects. Do you think our Duan Jin Sect will be afraid?”

“Moreover…”

Young Master Jin smiled meaningfully, “Your Tai Xu Sect’s sect rules are lax, and your disciples are not striving for improvement. Your sword discussions are worse every year, and you are no longer qualified to be listed in the ‘Eight Great Gates’.”

“If you continue like this, sooner or later, you will be replaced by my Duan Jin Sect…”

Cheng Mo cursed: “You gold waste, wishful thinking, dreaming your mother’s big Spring and Autumn dream!”

Severity gradually appeared in Young Master Jin’s eyes.

Si Tu Jian immediately pressed Cheng Mo and said in a low voice:

“Don’t cause more trouble. Let’s leave first.”

Cheng Mo reluctantly closed his mouth.

The opponents were numerous and strong, and their cultivation was also high. They were obviously higher-grade disciples of the Duan Jin Sect. It was indeed unwise to directly conflict in this disadvantaged situation.

Cheng Mo kicked the ground-lying Duan Jiang Long again, and then the four of them gathered together, spiritual tools in hand, vigilant of Young Master Jin’s group, and slowly retreated towards the outside of the woods.

Seeing them about to go far, a Duan Jin Sect disciple beside Young Master Jin asked: “Young master, should we…”

Young Master Jin’s expression was cold, “We can’t casually move the people from the Tai Xu Sect. If we truly cause big trouble, the Duan Jin Sect can’t protect us, unlike those small sects…”

That person bowed and said: “Yes.”

After that, the group led by Young Master Jin stood there contemptuously, watching Cheng Mo and the other three leave.

Cheng Mo and the other three walked out of the woods and went further away. Their expressions were all somewhat indignant.

“Bastards from the Duan Jin Sect!”

“Really shameless!”

“We painstakingly caught the person, and they just relied on numbers and directly snatched him.”

“Six hundred points of merit!”

Cheng Mo felt heartbroken.

Si Tu Jian and the others also sighed.

After so much effort, the hard-earned merit just flew away like this.

Yang Qian Jun was still somewhat doubtful, “Didn’t we take this task? How did those people from the Duan Jin Sect know?”

“Did they not take the task and just wanted to catch the person directly and send him to the Dao Ting Si to exchange for a reward?”

“Or did they just happen to pass by and temporarily intended to do it, seeing that we were easy to bully, so they directly snatched him?”

Cheng Mo and the others all shook their heads, their faces puzzled.

Si Tu Jian suddenly startled: “Where is Mo Hua?”

He looked around, thinking that Mo Hua was still hidden beside them, so they couldn’t see him. Then he softly shouted: “Little Senior Brother.”

But the surroundings were empty, and there was no one.

Hao Xuan took out the Tai Xu Ling, glanced at it, and raised his head, saying: “Little Senior Brother told us to leave first and wait for him at the ferry. He will find us later.”

Cheng Mo was puzzled: “What is he going to do?”

Hao Xuan shook his head.

How could he guess Little Senior Brother’s thoughts?

“Should we go to the ferry?” Cheng Mo asked.

Si Tu Jian thought for a while, unable to guess what Mo Hua wanted to do, and shook his head: “Let’s wait here. It’s not far from the small woods. If Mo Hua is in danger, we can still support him.”

“There are many and strong people from the Duan Jin Sect, but even if a conflict arises and they catch us, they definitely dare not kill us. At most, we will just suffer some hardship.”

“But if Mo Hua is caught by them alone, it’s hard to say…”

Although Mo Hua was also a disciple of the Tai Xu Sect, on the surface, his origin was just a rogue cultivator with no family to rely on.

Those people from the Duan Jin Sect might not have scruples.

Cheng Mo and the others all nodded seriously.

And in the small woods, Mo Hua was still lying on the big tree, peeking his head out, secretly looking down.

The sky gradually darkened, the sunset set, the rosy clouds retracted, and the light in the woods also darkened.

Cheng Mo and the others had left. Except for Duan Jiang Long, at this time, only “Young Master Jin” and his group of “fox friends and dog companions” from the same sect were left in the woods.

Young Master Jin kicked Duan Jiang Long over, then stepped on him, and said with an indifferent gaze:

“Evil creature, your crimes are heinous. Do you know that you would have this day?”

Duan Jiang Long spit out blood from his mouth, “Sect wastes, hypocritical beasts, dare to bully me, your grandpa…”

Young Master Jin pressed down with his foot, Duan Jiang Long grunted, and swallowed the remaining dirty words into his throat.

The other several Duan Jin Sect disciples also all looked indignant.

“Young master, there’s no need to talk nonsense with this beast. Just pinch off his throat, cripple his meridians, and throw him into the Dao Ting Si to get the reward.”

“Dare to insult my Duan Jin Sect, don’t you know how to write the word ‘death’?”

Young Master Jin kicked Duan Jiang Long again, “Evil creature, speak! Where are your other accomplices?”

Duan Jiang Long spat out a mouthful of blood but did not speak.

Young Master Jin frowned and instructed the surrounding disciples: “You all scatter and search to see if there are any accomplices of this evil creature nearby.”

“Yes, Young Master!”

The others received the order and scattered in groups of two or three to the surroundings.

The woods instantly quieted down, leaving only the arrogant Young Master Jin and the heavily scarred Duan Jiang Long.

Faint night colors spread, covering the woods.

Young Master Jin’s gaze was gloomy. He circled around the empty woods, and his divine sense swept back and forth several times. Then he retracted the foot that was stepping on Duan Jiang Long and casually threw him a pale red pill.

“Eat.”

Duan Jiang Long took the pill and swallowed it into his abdomen. His complexion instantly improved.

Mo Hua, hidden in the tree, was startled when he saw this and lightly “oh”ed in his heart.

“These two… actually know each other…”

Young Master Jin looked at Duan Jiang Long’s wretched appearance and couldn’t help but frown: “Really useless!”

Duan Jiang Long still wanted to say something.

Young Master Jin then said: “Wait.”

He casually took out two array flags, waved his sleeve, and threw the array flags like flying darts, nailing them to the ground.

Spiritual power flowed on the array flags, and a layer of inconspicuous pale white barrier rose, covering Young Master Jin and Duan Jiang Long.

Sound isolation array?

Mo Hua blinked and muttered in his heart:

“Still quite cautious…”

But in front of me, playing this little trick is a bit like showing off skills in front of an expert.

He swept his divine sense and calculated slightly in his heart. He could then find the gap in the spiritual power flow of the array and see through the array’s flaw.

The powerful and concealed divine sense instantly penetrated the barrier of the sound isolation array.

And Duan Jiang Long and the two of them were still completely unaware.

They were saying “private” words.

“…Useless!”

“…It’s not that I’m incompetent, it’s just that those few little ghosts are too strange…”

“Again fishing net, again array…”

“I wasn’t careful and was just netted, fished ashore, then dragged to the woods, and suffered the encirclement and attack of those few stinky little ghosts…”

“It’s really not me being careless, but they acted too thoroughly.”

Duan Jiang Long said: “I guess they must have someone directing them. This person is hiding in the dark, secretly plotting, insidious and despicable, with vicious methods…”

“Enough!” Young Master Jin said contemptuously, “If you fail, you fail. Don’t make excuses for yourself. It’s not your first day out.”

Young Master Jin’s face was gloomy, “You’ve really messed things up. Do you think the ‘young masters’ will listen to your explanation?”

Mo Hua was startled.

Young masters…?

Why are there still young masters?

And still ‘young masters’?

This Young Master Jin, isn’t he the real young master?

Duan Jiang Long heard the words “young masters” and indeed his face turned pale, his gaze terrified.

“Yes… it was my carelessness. I wasn’t careful and fell into the trap of those few little brats, almost messing up the young masters’ affairs.”

“I’m stupid…”

Duan Jiang Long said panic-stricken.

Young Master Jin then nodded in satisfaction, but after a moment, he frowned again, “How did these few sect little ghosts find you?”

Duan Jiang Long’s face was bitter, “I don’t know either…”

He cultivated the Bai Lang Gong and could always come and go freely in the water, stirring up winds and waves, lawless.

He didn’t expect that today, inexplicably, his tracks would be caught, an ambush would be set up, and he would be hard-dragged ashore from the river.

Duan Jiang Long carefully recalled the matter, and his heart sank, “Could it be… that someone has been staring at me?”

Young Master Jin’s expression was also ugly, but he thought for a moment and still shook his head:

“Not likely…”

“If someone was really staring at you, they wouldn’t send a few little ghosts to catch you.”

“Most likely, they took the sect’s reward and came to earn some merit… But to be able to catch you, these few little ghosts indeed have some ability.”

Young Master Jin sneered, then looked at Duan Jiang Long coldly again and scolded:

“I told you to act low-key, just killing one person, and your hands and feet are not clean. You can actually be pulled out by the Dao Ting Si?”

“If it weren’t for this, how would these few sect little ghosts catch you?”

Duan Jiang Long was helpless, “I didn’t want to either. Originally, I just wanted to bore their boat, drag those few people into the water, and let the water demons eat them…”

“I didn’t expect that the one surnamed Lin actually carried the ‘Water Avoiding Pearl’. The several water demons simply couldn’t kill him. I had no choice but to use the San Sha Gou, tore his throat, and this left traces, which were discovered by the Dao Ting Si…”

Mo Hua’s expression moved.

Surnamed “Lin”?

That dead young master from the family of six, was he surnamed “Lin”?

Mo Hua silently noted this surname and listened to Young Master Jin on that side continue:

“Recently, the situation has been tense. I will send you to the Dao Yu. You will ‘die’ inside. The Dao Ting Si will close the case and seal your file. When the situation passes, you will change your face and name again and continue to do things for the ‘young masters’…”

Duan Jiang Long said: “Many thanks, Young Master Jin, but…”

Young Master Jin said deeply: “Speak.”

Duan Jiang Long lowered his voice, his expression uneasy: “Why… has the situation been so bad recently?”

“Those who were sworn blood brothers, one or two, are either caught, or killed, or like stray dogs not daring to show their heads…”

“Now, those who can still breathe and still be on the road can be counted on two hands…”

“Even that ‘Venerable’… just one step away from the Golden Core, the terrifying Venerable, he also…”

Duan Jiang Long’s gaze was terrified, and his body involuntarily trembled.

Young Master Jin’s expression was serious, and his gaze was stern: “Mr. Tu guessed that we were schemed against…”

“For so many years, there have never been mistakes, and the news has never leaked, but in just over a year, the sworn blood brothers have fallen one after another. More than half have been lost…”

“…All of them were caught by the Dao Ting Si because their hands and feet were not clean and they left clues. Then the Dao Ting Si issued tasks for sect disciples to capture them in exchange for merit.”

“Even stranger is that the Dao Ting Si issued the rewards in this process, and the recipients of the rewards were ordinary sect disciples. They probably didn’t know anything at all.”

“And on the surface, there is no end in sight.”

Young Master Jin’s tone was slightly cold: “Therefore, I guess… there must be a huge, invisible ‘black hand’ in the dark manipulating all this…”

Young Master Jin said categorically.

Mo Hua, on the tree, couldn’t help but lower his head and look at his own fair and tender little hand, blinking in confusion.

Duan Jiang Long’s face was pale, and his voice was hoarse. He asked: “We can’t find this ‘behind-the-scenes black hand’, exactly who?”

Young Master Jin’s gaze condensed slightly, “Mr. Tu didn’t say, but in my heart, I already have a candidate…”

Mo Hua was curious and couldn’t help but perk up his ears.

Young Master Jin said deeply: “This person is very likely the Chief Officer of the Dao Ting Si…”

Young Master Jin paused, his gaze sharp: “…Gu Chang Huai!”

Mo Hua was startled.

Young Master Jin continued: “The Gu family has served in the Dao Ting Si for generations. Their temperament is pedantic and different from ours.”

“This Gu Chang Huai is a direct descendant of the Gu family, a Golden Core cultivator, with an eccentric temperament, unpredictable joy and anger, and unfathomable thoughts.”

“And his cultivation techniques are all first-class, and his strength is not to be underestimated.”

“He even possesses forbidden techniques and can be said to be invincible below the second-grade Golden Core state. Even the Huǒ Zūn, who was just one step away from the Golden Core, died at the hands of this Gu Chang Huai!”

Young Master Jin’s gaze was hateful, his expression full of apprehension.

“This Gu Chang Huai, even if he is not that ‘behind-the-scenes black hand’, is definitely a very important ‘chess piece’ in the hands of that behind-the-scenes person!”

“This person must be our life-and-death great enemy!”

Duan Jiang Long also believed it and nodded his head heavily, his expression serious.

Mo Hua didn’t know what to say…

Young Master Jin looked at Duan Jiang Long and said lightly: “Remember my words, in these days, you must be extremely careful.”

“Now is different from the past. You can’t leave any more traces. If you bring disaster and involve the young masters and mess up important things, you won’t even die comfortably.”

Duan Jiang Long pursed his mouth and nodded trembling.

Young Master Jin was still not at ease and instructed again: “Also… keep your mouth shut.”

“No matter who asks, you can’t say a word. If forced, you just directly…”

Young Master Jin drew his finger across his own neck, signaling to Duan Jiang Long.

Duan Jiang Long’s face was deathly pale.

Young Master Jin patted his shoulder and said: “The death of the flesh body does not mean true death. You have seen some things and should understand…”

Panic appeared in Duan Jiang Long’s eyes, and he was silent.

Young Master Jin nodded in satisfaction, “Remember what I said…”

There was movement on the periphery of the woods, as if someone had arrived.

Young Master Jin shot out two sword energies from his fingers, ground the two sound isolation array flags, and twisted them into pieces. Then he kicked Duan Jiang Long down again.

Duan Jiang Long fell, pretending to be unconscious.

After a while, the Duan Jin Sect disciples who had been dispatched to search earlier returned and respectfully said: “Young master, there are no traces of this evil creature’s accomplices around.”

Young Master Jin showed displeasure. After a moment, he sighed and said: “Forget it, catching this one is enough. Find two people and take this ‘Duan Jiang Long’ to the Dao Ting Si. Everyone will divide the reward equally.”

The crowd of Duan Jin Sect disciples all showed joy and bowed, saying: “Many thanks, Young Master!”

Young Master Jin nodded slightly, looked at Duan Jiang Long contemptuously one last time, and then left arrogantly.

The other disciples followed behind him, leaving only two people who lifted the “unconscious” Duan Jiang Long and pressed him towards the Dao Ting Si.

Not long after, everyone inside the small woods left, and the surroundings were quiet.

Mo Hua, who had been hiding, then jumped down from the big tree and left without anyone knowing.

He originally wanted to go directly to the ferry to meet Cheng Mo and the others, but he didn’t expect that after leaving the small woods, he hadn’t walked far when he met Cheng Mo and the others.

Cheng Mo and the other four were ambushed in the grass, their eyes bright, staring at the small woods, as if waiting for him.

Mo Hua’s heart felt slightly warm, and then he revealed himself.

Cheng Mo and the other four were startled and all asked: “Mo Hua, are you alright?”

“I’m alright,” Mo Hua said.

Everyone relaxed, and then Cheng Mo asked: “Should we… go back to the sect now?”

His expression was somewhat lost. Si Tu Jian and the others’ gazes were also somewhat dim.

The person was snatched, and the original one hundred twenty points of merit per person were also gone.

Mo Hua shook his head, “No hurry, we can’t make a trip for nothing.”

Everyone was startled and couldn’t help but look at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua said righteously: “A gentleman’s revenge is not taken overnight. Since they dared to snatch ours, we will go and snatch theirs now!”

(End of this chapter)