Chapter 256: The More You Think, The Scarier It Gets
After returning from the Liu Family, Ji You and the Jianchachu (Surveillance Department) stayed at the same inn.
After resting until noon, Visiting Card from the Worldly Sect of Zhongzhou began to be delivered to the inn.
These cards were clearly written in haste, some even with ink not yet dry.
Among the Worldly Sect who came to deliver these cards, the Qiu Family was also included.
In fact, as early as after Ji You defeated Yan Hao, the Qiu Family Patriarch had already deeply regretted why he hadn't insisted on marrying his daughter off to him. Later, he even personally sought help from He Lingxiu to invite Ji You again.
But that time, Ji You returned to Feng Province.
Now, upon hearing about what happened in the mountains last night, his desire for amends grew even stronger.
To show his sincerity, the Qiu Family Patriarch even specifically called his daughter, Qiu Hanyue, and ordered her to personally deliver the invitation.
He originally thought his daughter would refuse, as his daughter had previously wanted to marry into a Worldly Family better than the Qiu Family, so he had prepared a belly full of persuasion.
But to the Qiu Family Patriarch's surprise, Qiu Hanyue said nothing after taking the invitation and turned to rush to the inn.
Earlier, when she was sitting and drinking tea with other Worldly Family Disciples, others were trying to persuade her.
Especially her sisters, saying that sometimes fate is just that strange, and besides, you didn't want to marry him before, there's no need to hurt yourself over it now.
Her good sister, Sheng Xiyu, also advised her, saying that even with great combat power, it still couldn't change the fact that he was currently alone and so on.
But for some reason, Qiu Hanyue couldn't be as open-minded as her sisters suggested, as if some unwillingness was hidden in her heart.
So, all the way to the inn, the Qiu Family's Young Miss prepared her words, such as explaining that she didn't know him at the Tiandao Conference, and that her resistance was because she disliked others arranging her marriage, not because she had any opinions of him, and so on.
However, when this Qiu Family's Young Miss arrived at the inn, she couldn't help but freeze in place.
Because she found that many of her sisters had already gathered in the inn, especially Sheng Xiyu, who was also there.
Compared to when they were drinking tea in the courtyard earlier, Sheng Xiyu had even specially changed into a chest-length embroidered dress, revealing a patch of white, smooth cleavage, which made Qiu Hanyue's face darken.
The good life my sister didn't get to live, I'll live it for her.
However, the invitation Ji You ultimately accepted was from the Yu Family of Zhongzhou.
The Yu Family didn't have chest-length formal dresses, naturally no snowy white roundness, but for Ji Hanfei, whose purpose was to eat, their banquet was still good.
After his physique broke through two major barriers, Yan Shuyi indeed needed more sisters, but the decisive factor was still the tsundere.
Moreover, these young ladies from the Zhongzhou Worldly Sect seemed unable to withstand being chiseled.
Zhongzhou was just a temporary stopover.
After a night, as the morning light fell, Ji You, who had rested here for a night, boarded the Jianchachu (Surveillance Department)'s carriage, preparing to head to Shangping County in Dongliang Commandery.
There was also a vast mountain range there, harboring a considerable number of Evil Seeds.
Ji You sat in the bumpy carriage and saw many Immortal Sects and Worldly Family members constantly entering and exiting the secluded mountains and wilderness.
These Immortal Sects did not participate in the extermination of the Evil Seeds, and he, being with the Jianchachu (Surveillance Department) people, was very clear about this.
So, they were not afraid of the Evil Seeds causing harm, but rather investigating something.
Ji You sat in the carriage, looking at these Immortal Sect Disciples, and the scene of the demon’s Ascension on Qi Ridge came to his mind.
With so many Evil Seeds appearing, and their numbers unknown, it probably stirred the nerves of the major Immortal Sects and Worldly Sect.
They probably associated it with the incident at Qi Ridge, which made them so nervous.
Ji You now withdrew his gaze and felt the carriage slowly stop. He then lifted the curtain, jumped off the carriage, and found that he had already arrived at Shangping County in Dongliang Commandery.
Here, many Immortal Sect and Worldly Family members were moving in and out of the mountains and forests. When they saw Ji You appear on the long street, their gazes couldn't help but gather.
He had only emerged from the Xianxian Holy Land last night, and not many people had seen him. Meeting him on the street now naturally attracted everyone's attention.
“He came out of the Xianxian Holy Land? When did this happen? Why haven't I heard?”
“Perhaps it was just these past few days, otherwise there wouldn't have been no news.”
“Why isn't he returning to Tianshu Academy, and what is he doing here?”
“It seems he came with the Jianchachu (Surveillance Department), probably also for the matter of the Evil Seeds.”
“Those who returned from the Holy Land earlier said that he was still in the Tong Xuan Realm after half a year. Is that true or false?”
“His aura is restrained, I can't see clearly—”
Amidst the discussions, the small team dispatched by the Jianchachu (Surveillance Department) to be stationed here hurried over and reported to Mu Qing about the situation of the Evil Seeds in the mountains.
The number of Evil Seeds here was slightly less than in the Shangnan Mountain Range, but the problem was that they were too scattered, not gathered in valleys, requiring them to be eliminated one by one.
Among them, the south slope had the most, and the vegetation on the south slope was denser, with complex terrain. Compared to the north slope, which had fewer numbers and gentle terrain, the danger level was more than just a little higher.
However, just listening only provides a general understanding, not a complete picture.
So, led by this stationed team, everyone circled the desolate mountain.
After they finished, Mu Qing subconsciously turned to look at Ji You: “Young Master Ji, what do you think?”
Ji You pondered for a long time: “I’ll go to the south slope, you all go to the north slope.”
“This—won't it be too dangerous? The terrain on the south slope is a disadvantage for us.”
“There’s a village to the south, and I won’t be modest, your efficiency is too slow. I’m afraid some Evil Seeds might escape. Otherwise, for something this dangerous, I’d definitely charge money.”
After hearing this, Mu Qing looked towards the south slope: “Young Master Ji is truly different from other cultivators. I originally thought Young Master would eventually change.”
The people of the Jianchachu (Surveillance Department) were very clear about Ji You's cultivation path.
Even Ji You himself didn't know that he actually had a separate case file within the Jianchachu (Surveillance Department).
Those familiar with his experiences always believed he would change.
He entered an Immortal Sect, joined the Inner Courtyard, and rose to fame at the Tiandao Conference. People like him who appeared in the past basically became high and mighty Immortals, just like those Worldly Family Disciples of that time.
Especially yesterday, those Immortal Sect Young Ladies were dressed to the nines, all wanting to invite him in.
If he wanted to, he would have surely integrated into the Immortal Sect.
But what he still cared about now were those Mortals, whose deaths, in the eyes of cultivators, wouldn't have much impact.
Subsequently, the people from the Jianchachu (Surveillance Department) gathered together, formulated a plan for clearing the Evil Seeds, and then entered the desolate mountain.
Ji You parted ways with them at the mountain stream, then carried his sword and headed towards the south slope.
There were indeed many Evil Corpses on the south slope, hidden in various corners.
Ji You observed for a long time from a safe distance that wouldn't provoke the Evil Seeds' ferocity, confirmed the approximate hiding places of those Evil Seeds, then released his aura, and his power began to constantly condense.
Suddenly, he transformed into an afterimage and charged towards the south slope.
As if sensing human presence, the Evil Seeds on the hillside instantly became restless, their entire bodies shaking with Evil Qi rising into the sky, their faces immediately becoming ferocious, and they howled as they rushed towards Ji You.
Ji You did not stop. With his Qi and blood surging, he stepped back to the west, his foot Qi bursting forth, instantly shattering a rock.
And the Evil Seeds to the west immediately bared their fangs and claws, surging towards him like a tide.
If one were to look down from above, the entire scene would be dozens of Evil Seeds, scattered in different locations, converging. Some curved in an arc, while others charged straight ahead, all rushing madly towards Ji You.
Killing them one by one would be too time-consuming and laborious, and a slight oversight could indeed miss some. Ji You was unwilling to do anything too uncertain, so he had long ago thought of using their ferocity to gather them together first.
Doing so carried risks, as the bodies of Evil Seeds were inherently incredibly tough and difficult to kill with a single sword strike.
Thus, when Evil Seeds gathered, the risk of being overwhelmed by the tide would increase infinitely.
Bang!
Ji You suddenly stopped, and the heavy force of his stomp kicked up a cloud of dust and sand from the mountain.
The Evil Seeds, whose ferocity had been triggered, had already charged forward. Ji You, now standing still, drew his sword, and the gleaming sword body let out a ringing sound.
At this moment, facing the charging Evil Seeds, a scorching aura began to sway within the mountain peak.
Then, a clear sword light whistled up, stirring up a gust of wind and surging waves.
【Dao Sword: Willow Color New】
Under the powerful Sword Qi, ripples spread through the air, and a scorching sword edge slashed horizontally.
As the Sword Dao descended, the mountains trembled. The leading Evil Seeds, charging head-on, had not even touched the incredibly sharp Sword Qi when their bodies were directly shattered by the heavy Qi force.
Subsequently, the Sword Qi swept across, and countless Evil Households were pierced through by the sharp Dao Sword, with severed limbs flying everywhere.
In fact, Mu Qing had sent a team to assist Ji You, but Ji You had arranged them on the outer perimeter of the South Slope, only responsible for guarding.
And when Ji You charged out, they finally understood that in order to prevent the Evil Seed from escaping, Ji You had chosen to use himself as bait, gathering all the Evil Seeds together.
Even though they knew Ji You's combat power was astonishing, seeing the overwhelming surge of Evil Seeds, they couldn't help but feel a chill.
It wasn't until the fiery blade swept across, and the oncoming Qi wave cut their faces like knives, that they realized what the Evil Seeds on the South Slope were facing.
"Evil Seeds really don't have any distinguishing features."
"No clothes, and the dried corpses all look the same. It seems the Jianxian (Surveillance Department) couldn't confirm the origin of the Evil Seeds not because they were slacking off."
After Ji You retracted his sword, he squatted on the ground, constantly searching among several Evil Households, trying to find something that could indicate their origin, but he was greatly disappointed.
There was nothing to prove their origin, and he couldn't even confirm whether this batch was from the same source as the one in the Shangnan Mountain Range. The Jianxian (Surveillance Department) and the Zhenbei Army squad on the North Slope were currently fighting, and once all the Evil Seeds were cleared, they would come out of the mountain to rendezvous with Ji You.
The Immortal Sect and Worldly Family members had not received orders to clear the Evil Seeds, so they had been waiting in the county town.
Seeing everyone enter and then exit within less than an hour, their eyes couldn't help but show surprise.
They naturally knew the number of Evil Seeds in the mountains, and they also knew that those copper-skinned, iron-boned demonic creatures were not easy to kill, especially on the South Slope, where the terrain was complex and there were many Evil Seeds.
The surprising thing for these people was that they could clear the Evil Seeds in such a short time. After the Evil Seeds in Shangping County were cleared, the Jianxian (Surveillance Department) waited there for a day.
This place was close to Feng Province, and the Jianxian (Surveillance Department)'s Enforcement Department was responsible for clearing the Evil Seeds in Feng Province. Mu Qing had originally agreed to return to Shengjing with Wang Mian, the Enforcement Department's Ti Si, but after waiting and waiting, no one arrived.
So he left a few people to go to Feng Province along the way to investigate the situation, while the remaining few returned to Shengjing by carriage.
At the same time, the Immortal Sect Disciples who had come to investigate the Evil Seed outbreak areas also returned.
Just as Ji You had previously speculated, neither the Immortal Sect nor the Worldly Family had much interest in the Evil Seeds themselves, nor did they consider sending powerful individuals to suppress these rampaging Evil Seeds.
The reason they sent Disciples to investigate everywhere was indeed because the dark clouds behind the Evil Seed outbreak had stirred their nerves.
After investigation, all the places where Evil Seeds had appeared were basically clear. The major Immortal Sects and Worldly Sect compiled the reported information, which was then drawn into a map.
The original chaos gradually began to become orderly, which led to countless discussions behind closed doors.
"According to the map, all Evil Seeds basically appeared in the wilderness, some near ruins, but some locations had no traces of ruins around them at all. At the very least, it can be said that they did not escape from the ruins, which is the same as what happened before."
"Are you saying Evil Seeds can move independently of ruins?"
"That's right, this only happened during the Qi Ridge incident. Such a coincidence is likely to be related, so this may not be a natural disaster, but a man-made one."
"But we've tried many times before, and things from the ruins truly cannot be brought out no matter what."
"This is the most puzzling and unsettling thing. The ruins left by the Lasting Peace Race have always been a taboo in the Qingyun World, especially after the Qi Ridge incident. All major ruins were guarded by Immortal Sects and Worldly Sect, ostensibly strictly prohibiting entry.
But in reality, although everything has been calm since the death of Zheng Family Old Ancestor, some Immortal Sects and Worldly Sect have never given up on researching the ruins.
However, after long research, they never found anything valuable.
The power within the ruins is not accepted by the outside world; things brought out turn to ash, and those who consume those things can never return.
Useless things, no matter how good, have no value, so naturally, people would no longer dwell on them.
But the sudden appearance of Evil Seeds makes it hard not to recall what happened before, making one wonder if there are other Old Ancestors or similar entities.
Some things are just like this; if you only look at the surface, it's just another Evil Seed calamity, but upon closer thought, it feels far from simple.
Similarly, people in tea houses and taverns were also discussing these matters heatedly.
They did not have the drawn map, but through the constant flow of rumors, they could roughly know where Evil Seeds had been discovered again.
This lively scene was different from before; the previous liveliness was orderly, but the current clamor seemed a bit chaotic.
Meanwhile, a carriage from the Jianxian (Surveillance Department) returned from the west, entering the city through the city gate.
Upon reaching the divine path in front of the Tianshu Academy gate, Ji You lifted the curtain and jumped down from the carriage's shaft.
Although he had only stayed in the Xianxian Holy Land for half a year, if the Tiandao Conference was also included, he had been away for almost a year.
This year was naturally fleeting for cultivators, but Ji You still felt as if he had been away for a long time.
Without troublesome Disciples to snatch his silver, Instructor Cao, who must be agonizing daily over how to spend his monthly salary, must be in great pain.
And Ru Long Immortal Emperor, with his money pouch bulging, must have unspeakable suffering.
Ji You felt a pang of sympathy remembering the two of them, so he stepped onto the divine path and headed towards the mountain gate.
In fact, news of Ji You leaving the Xianxian Holy Land had already begun to spread faintly in recent days.
However, because the matter of the Evil Seeds was so significant, this news was drowned out in the discussions. Otherwise, people would surely be gathered in front of the Tianshu Academy gate at this time, to see if he truly stayed in the Xianxian Holy Land for half a year and was still in the Tong Xuan Realm.
Ji You now walked along the path next to the Ascension White Jade Platform, heading towards Cao Jinsong's courtyard, and reached out to push the door.
To his surprise, it wasn't Cao Jinsong sitting in the courtyard, but Instructor Ding Ang from the Outer Courtyard.
Ding Ang was currently drinking tea with Instructor Ma Ma Zhiyuan in the courtyard, discussing the matter of the Evil Seeds. Seeing Ji You now, he couldn't help but look surprised.
Not having seen each other for an entire year, meeting again indeed makes one feel a bit disoriented.
"Ji You...?"
"It's me. Why are the two Instructors in Instructor Cao's courtyard?"
Ding Ang gazed at him, and after a long time, he came back to his senses and said, "Uh, Cao Jinsong has been successful in cultivating Disciples. According to the instructions from the academy, my original courtyard was exchanged for him to live in."
Ji You glanced at Ding Ang: "So Instructor Ding was moved to this courtyard?"
"Yes."
"Instructor Cao is being a bit arrogant doing this, it's practically blatant extortion."
Ji You couldn't help but frown: "Instructor Ding, give me some silver, and I'll help you teach him a lesson."
Ding Ang and Ma Zhiyuan exchanged glances: "Uh, let's not. We're both very familiar with your and his styles."
Seeing that Ding Ang was unwilling to spend money to make him a troublesome Disciple, Ji You didn't insist on forced buying and selling. So, he clarified the courtyard where Cao Jinsong was now located and then turned to leave.
Ding Ang and Ma Zhiyuan saw him off to the door, watching his retreating figure. After much thought, they couldn't help but exchange glances: "The rumors are true, Ji You is indeed still in the Tong Xuan Realm."
Ma Zhiyuan swallowed: "Why didn't you make a move to test him?"
"He and I have no personal grudge."
"Isn't Cao Jinsong so arrogant precisely because of his troublesome Disciple?"
"That's true, but as an Instructor, I shouldn't really pick a fight with a junior—"
Ma Zhiyuan glanced at Ding Ang, thinking to himself that if he didn't dare, he should just say he didn't dare, there was nothing shameful about it. In reality, he also didn't quite dare.
Because almost everyone in the Tianshu Academy knew that Ji You's cultivation had always been peculiar.
This peculiarity most likely stemmed from his Body Refining method, which allowed him to be invincible within the same realm and even fight across realms.
Ding Ang and Ma Zhiyuan were both in the Integration Realm Upper Realm. Logically speaking, crushing a Tong Xuan Realm cultivator would be no problem, but whenever they thought that this Tong Xuan Realm cultivator was Ji You, they felt uncertain.