A Sect from a Spirit Vein

Chapter 153 - 123: The Mysterious Visitor (Part 2)

A powerful spiritual pressure surged forward, causing everyone’s breath to stall and their bodies to tremble.

Lu Qian’s face turned pale in an instant; this person was actually a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!

An enemy? Could it be that the heavens have forsaken us?

No, it can’t be someone from the Shahe Gang or Spirit Talisman Sect; otherwise, they would have acted already.

At this moment, with a metallic clang, Jiang Qingfeng and Tan Hong drew their swords on either side, standing in front of Lu Qian.

Faced with the pressure of a late-stage Foundation Establishment, Jiang Qingfeng gritted her teeth, her body trembling, yet still firmly standing before Lu Qian.

Tan Hong shouted loudly, "Protect the Sect Leader!" The disciples awoke and threw themselves forward without hesitation, surrounding Lu Qian.

"Do not be rude!" Lu Qian softly rebuked, "This senior means us no harm. If he wanted, he could easily take all our lives with a mere gesture."

The man nodded approvingly, not angered, "Your Yunshan Sect disciples, though low in cultivation, are loyal and brave, indeed admirable. It seems I haven’t found the wrong people."

Lu Qian asked the disciples to stand down and bowed slightly, "Senior, this junior is injured and unable to salute properly. I beg your forgiveness. May I ask why you have come to find me?"

The man shook his head, "This desolate place is not suitable for conversation. I will accompany you back to Bichao Mountain. Once you’re settled, we can talk. Regarding my matters, you must all keep it a secret. If anyone leaks information, don’t blame me for being ruthless."

As he spoke the last words, his tone turned cold, spiritual pressure flickering, causing everyone’s hearts to tremble with fear.

Lu Qian felt helpless; I don’t even know who this great figure is, how could there be anything to leak? Knowing I’m heavily injured, yet insisting on visiting our Mountain Gate, shows he is a forceful and proud character. I must be cautious.

Lu Qian responded respectfully, instructing Jiang Qingfeng to prepare the flying ship, and three magical artifacts ascended into the sky.

The late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator also boarded the flying ship; he nodded slightly to Lu Qian and then suddenly disappeared into thin air.

Invisibility!

Everyone was shocked; this was entirely different from the crude water vapor cloaking of an Invisibility Talisman. When you looked over, the man’s position was completely empty, nothing was there.

Lu Qian suddenly recalled that when this Feathered Scholar appeared, he also suddenly showed himself; before, I thought I didn’t see clearly, but it turns out he really possesses the power of invisibility!

Is it a Dao Pattern or a Secret Technique? Can Divine Sense detect it? But Lu Qian’s Divine Sense was almost exhausted, and he dared not use it to probe; he could only bury this doubt in his heart.

The man’s voice resounded, "Just head back to the mountain."

Lu Qian guessed this man didn’t want irrelevant people to see his form and immediately agreed, instructing Qingfeng to steer the flying ship towards Bichao Mountain.

All the way, the man said nothing more, as if he had vanished into thin air. But everyone knew he was sitting right there, and Lu Qian felt immense pressure, pondering carefully.

In this heavy atmosphere, the three magical artifacts arrived at the Mountain Gate. Jiang Qingfeng, holding a Token, entered first, manipulating the Grand Array to open a gap, allowing everyone to enter.

As they passed through the Five Elements Grand Array, the man finally spoke again, "This Grand Array is quite decent. Did you set it up yourself? I saw you set up the Array to fend off the enemy earlier. For a mere Qi Cultivator, to reach such a level, you indeed have some skill."

Lu Qian was shocked; it turned out this cultivator had been watching the battle invisibly from the side the whole time, and neither side of the fight had the slightest perception.

No wonder he said we fled quickly and searched for a long time. It turns out he followed us right after the battle, but Guh Niqiang’s sudden burst of escape speed left him behind, and he had to search all the way here.

Exactly who is he, and what does he want?

At least for now, it appears that this cultivator bears no malice; otherwise, if he had intervened during the battle, even Guh Niqiang would have perished on the spot.

Lu Qian humbly replied, and the man fell silent once more.

Everyone went directly to the Sect Leader’s Courtyard, where the man finally revealed himself. Lu Qian respectfully invited him to sit for a while in the reception room, then instructed everyone to keep quiet about this, dispersing on their own.

Lu Qian first instructed Tan Hong and his wife to place Guh Niqiang near the Spirit Vein. Fairy Nishang has a unique constitution; it seems she can speed up her recovery just by being near a Spirit Vein.

She was unconscious at the moment, and Lu Qian didn’t have Danxia Sect’s Foundation Establishment stage Spirit Pill and dared not randomly feed her medicine, so he let her rest at the Spirit Vein. Fortunately, her injuries weren’t severe, just the side effects of the potential-stirring elixir were quite strong. Once she wakes up, she can heal herself.

Afterward, Lu Qian asked Jiang Qingfeng for help in applying medicine and bandages to his arm.

The Bing Fire Poison in his arm had been completely extracted by Guh Niqiang, leaving behind horrific burn wounds on flesh and bone. Lu Qian first asked Jiang Qingfeng to cleanse the wound with some detoxifying Spiritual Liquid, then crushed a few One Qi Evergreen Pills from Danxia Sect, applying them to the deep burn, and bandaged it up.

He then took another One Qi Evergreen Pill and a Star Dew Nourishing Spirit Pill intending for Jiang Qingfeng to wake him in half an hour, before beginning meditation to recover a bit.

Normally, such an injury would require cutting away the blackened, necrotic flesh and scraping off bad bones before treatment. But now, with the mysterious late-stage Foundation Establishment guest seated inside, there was no time. He could only perform a quick treatment and wait to treat his wounds properly after seeing off the guest.

Seeing the horrifying scorch marks and deep wounds on Lu Qian’s arms, which even exposed bone, Jiang Qingfeng shed tears again. Her heart ached and blamed herself deeply, regretting her low cultivation level, unable to stay by Lu Qian’s side and fight alongside him.

Thinking of Guh Niqiang’s unrivaled prowess, who swept all before her, Jiang Qingfeng clenched her fists and made a firm determination.

Meanwhile, five hundred miles outside Bichao Mountain, at the Spirit Talisman Sect Mountain Gate, Yinn Hongbo and Zhuang Qing returned to their sect.

They were now in a secret room, Zhuang Qing half-squinting while Yinn Hongbo paced back and forth, looking agitated.

Earlier, their meeting with Han Wen could be described as unpleasant. In this battle, Shahe Gang suffered heavy losses, the second-in-command Feng Jun fell, and the third-in-command Huangfu Zhuqing was mortally wounded, with only a few out of thirty elite disciples managing to escape.

However, the Spirit Talisman Sect barely lost a few disciples, and Zhuang Qing was almost unscathed.

This ambush plan was proposed by Han Wen. Seeing the results, his heart was partly shocked by Lu Qian and Guh Niqiang’s strength, partly torn by their own losses, and mostly filled with deep suspicion towards the Spirit Talisman Sect.

He suspected that Zhuang Qing might have done something during the battle that led to their heavy losses while the enemy slipped away unscathed.

But now, with their forces severely depleted, they still relied on the Spirit Talisman Sect as an ally to resist the potential opportunistic attack from the Northwest Two Sects and the Southern Shuangye Alliance’s retaliation. So, they had to swallow the bitter pill.

However, Han Wen couldn’t suppress his anger and suspicion any longer, even losing the harmless smile he usually wore.

As for Yinn Hongbo, witnessing the significant losses of the Shahe Gang, it was hard not to feel a bit of schadenfreude. So, the two parted hastily, even neglecting the formalities.

Back at the Spirit Talisman Sect Mountain Gate, Yinn Hongbo quickly took Zhuang Qing to the secret room to hear a detailed account of the battle.

He was amazed at Guh Niqiang’s invincible might among her peers and Lu Qian, a mere Qi Cultivator, who showed remarkable skill in arrays, capable of holding off two Foundation Establishment cultivators for thirty breaths.

This was only something an Array Cultivator with the legendary ’Consciousness Collection’ could achieve.

It seems I underestimated him before, and Yunshan Sect, after defeating Chaosheng Sect, truly is extraordinary. After this battle, the Shuangye Alliance holding the south is as stable as a mountain.

Then Zhuang Qing’s words made him stand up in surprise, his brow furrowed.

"What? We are to reconcile with the Shuangye Alliance and unite against the Shahe Gang?"