Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan
"Not good!"
Chen Mobai couldn't help but cry out in alarm upon witnessing the scene.
Although Kong Feichen had schemed against him, after their conversation, Chen Mobai could somewhat understand his motives, as it was all to cure Yang Jing's mental illness.
So when he saw Kong Feichen leaving with Yang Jing, Chen Mobai actually felt a sense of relief, thinking that this might be a good outcome for the siblings.
The moment Lin Yin appeared abruptly, Chen Mobai wanted to stop her, but the binding power of Kong Feichen's "Seal" was too formidable. Even with his powerful spiritual sense, he couldn't mobilize the slightest bit of spiritual power from within his dantian's sea of qi.
A trace of inexplicable sadness flashed in his eyes, and he couldn't help but close them, unwilling to witness the scene of Kong Feichen being killed.
Just then, Chen Mobai's spiritual sense detected a grand aura he had never felt before.
A faint sound of something cutting through the air was heard, and a withered yellow leaf flew from the rooftop next door, gently landing on Lin Yin's dagger, which had already drawn blood on Kong Feichen's neck.
With a 'DING' sound!
The crisp sound of shattering rang out as the leaf broke the dagger and continued its momentum, slicing across Lin Yin's outstretched right shoulder.
Blood splattered, and Lin Yin let out a muffled grunt, clutching her injured joint before vanishing into thin air once again.
Who was it?
Chen Mobai was filled with shock and suspicion. The blood-stained yellow leaf twirled down and landed on the table in front of him, next to an empty glass bottle.
He looked up and saw Kong Feichen also wearing a look of surprise, clearly not expecting someone to be lying in ambush, nor knowing who had made the move or who had saved him.
"Get out of here!"
A synthesized electronic voice sounded, and Chen Mobai looked over to find a person in a black hoodie with a hood up, their form and face indiscernible, only the bright eyes confirming their humanity.
"Thank you, senior."
Kong Feichen felt the cut on his neck and, not daring to delay any longer, thanked the mysterious person before directly carrying Yang Jing into a silver ring of fire.
After watching the two of them disappear, Chen Mobai looked back at the neighboring rooftop, only to find that the person was gone.
He took a deep breath and, with difficulty, lifted his hand to touch the withered leaf on the table.
It was a very ordinary leaf, one that could be easily plucked from the green cypress trees lining the streets.
Yet, it was this very leaf that had defeated a Foundation Establishment expert in front of Chen Mobai, someone even he had failed to detect.
Who could this person be?
Definitely stronger than himself, as Chen Mobai's most powerful technique, the Sword Rainbow Splitting Light, required the use of second-tier magical instruments like the Sparrow Hairpin to unleash its power.
But this person had used just an ordinary withered leaf.
Plucking leaves to fly flowers, flicking a finger to repel foes.
Chen Mobai had a feeling that this person might be even stronger than the earth-shattering Lan Hai Tian and the White-Eyed Woman from the Ascension Sect earlier!
But Lan Hai Tian was already the strongest Foundation Establishment force in the Immortal Gate.
Someone stronger than him…
Could it be a Golden Elixir Taoist Master!
Realizing this, Chen Mobai couldn't help but inhale sharply.
After a while, when he felt that he could move his hands freely again, he took out his phone and found his teacher Che Yucheng's number in the contacts.
Just as he was about to make the call, a slight cough sounded in his ear.
"Are you still here?"
Although Chen Mobai didn't know who Lin Yin was, he immediately realized it was her.
"Every Golden Elixir Taoist Master in the Immortal Gate must report their actions to the Kaiyuan Hall in advance."
Lin Yin, clutching her shoulder, appeared in front of Chen Mobai, sitting where Kong Feichen had been. As she spoke, she took out two white adhesive strips and crossed them over the wound.
Before long, Chen Mobai saw her wound stop bleeding and begin to heal rapidly, scabbing over.
"What are you trying to say?"
"There have been no other Golden Elixir Taoist Masters in Danxia City recently, only those two stationed here."
Lin Yin lifted her head, her brown eyes locking onto Chen Mobai, and uttered a sentence that greatly shocked him.
"You mean…"
"If it involves a Golden Elixir Taoist Master, even the Zhengfa Hall might not be able to handle it. We would need to report to the Kaiyuan Hall."
There are three main halls in the Immortal Gate: the Xianwu Hall, responsible for managing the three hundred million cultivators according to the law, encompassing birth, aging, sickness, and death; the Zhengfa Hall, tasked with maintaining the law and eliminating any heretics that threaten the law and the happiness of all beings; and finally, the Kaiyuan Hall, responsible for enacting the laws of the Immortal Gate.
The criteria to join the Kaiyuan Hall are simple.
Golden Elixir Taoist Masters who have not been stripped of their political rights by the Immortal Gate.
This means that every Golden Elixir Taoist Master is a manager within the Immortal Gate.
And the two Golden Elixir Taoist Masters of Danxia City are both listed in the Kaiyuan Hall. If it really involves them, even the Zhengfa Hall has no authority over them.
They would first need to be removed from the Kaiyuan Hall before the laws of the Immortal Gate could be applied to them.
"I don't believe the two masters would do such a thing."
Chen Mobai shook his head, voicing his thoughts, but he didn't directly mention the Taoist names of the two masters of Danxia City.
"Just on my word alone, the Kaiyuan Hall definitely won't initiate an investigation."
As Lin Yin spoke, her brown eyes stared straight at Chen Mobai, who shook his head in response.
"Whether it's a Golden Elixir Taoist Master or not is just your speculation; I can't testify for you."
"Suit yourself."
Lin Yin didn't say anything more. With a single hand, she formed a seal, and her figure began to fade away again.
"I still don't know who you are?"
"You'll find out in the future."
The Mending the Sky Division, due to its combat responsibilities, often conceals its members' identities. Although Lin Yin knew that Lan Hai Tian intended to recruit Chen Mobai into the division, since he wasn't yet her colleague, she didn't reveal her name.
However, even though she didn't say it, the few words she had spoken were enough for Chen Mobai to make a guess.
She must be from the Zhengfa Hall, and the only recent contact he had with the Zhengfa Hall was with Lan Hai Tian.
So, it was very likely that she was from the Mending the Sky Division.
If that was the case, Lan Hai Tian's previous words became questionable.
But with things having reached this point, these were minor issues.
If the person who had let Kong Feichen go was indeed a Golden Elixir Taoist Master…
Thinking of this, a look of worry crossed Chen Mobai's brow.
He thought for a moment, edited the incident into a detailed document, and sent it to his teacher Che Yucheng.
This head instructor of the Weaponry Dao Academy, also a Golden Elixir Taoist Master, had once served as a standing committee member of the Kaiyuan Hall. He would certainly have more experience with such matters than Chen Mobai.
However, it seemed he was not by his phone and did not reply immediately.
***
It wasn't until nearly noon the next day that Chen Mobai finally felt he could control the spiritual power within his dantian's sea of qi again.
He took a deep breath, marveling at the more solid spiritual power he felt, which seemed to have benefited from the medicine. It was as if the slight toxicity accumulated from taking Foundation Establishment pills had vanished, saving him at least half a year of detoxifying effort.
Ding Ding Ding!
At that moment, Che Yucheng finally sent a message back.
Just one sentence.
[I know, come back as soon as you're done with your business. Don't rashly investigate the Golden Elixir Taoist Masters before the truth comes out.]
Seeing this message, Chen Mobai immediately replied with two words: [Okay.]
In fact, when he first returned to Danxia City, he had visited the Crimson Robe Taoist Master at the Chixia Academy, but the latter was in seclusion and couldn't be seen.
With the current situation, Chen Mobai might not return to Danxia City for several years.
Once he confirmed his spiritual power was unharmed, Chen Mobai went to the living room.
Seeing Qing Nv sound asleep on the sofa, he sighed and gently tapped her smooth, fair forehead.
"Uh… what happened to me… Where's Jing'er?"
Qing Nv woke up still disoriented, rubbing her eyes and searching for her sister, who she remembered had just been rescued.
"Kong Feichen took her to a faraway place for treatment."
Chen Mobai hesitated for a moment but decided to tell her everything.
After hearing the whole story, Qing Nv's expression became blank.
Time seemed to stand still before tears began to flow uncontrollably from her eyes, leaving Chen Mobai somewhat at a loss.
In the end, he had no choice but to hold and comfort her.
Two days later.
Chen Mobai received a call from Lan Hai Tian, who wanted to meet at the usual place.
"Thank you for your efforts last time."
After landing in the courtyard, Chen Mobai first greeted Lan Hai Tian, who was sitting on top of a medicinal cauldron. After all, Lan Hai Tian had come at his request to save Yang Jing, and even though Kong Feichen ultimately took her away, the favor was still noted.
"Have you considered joining the Mending the Sky Division?"
Lan Hai Tian asked with a smile, seemingly in a good mood.
"I've thought about it and feel that I'm not cut out for fighting and killing. I'm truly sorry."
Originally, after defeating Tuoba Wanyi of the Ascension Sect with a single sword strike, Chen Mobai thought joining wouldn't be a big deal, as his strength seemed to be quite respectable in the Immortal Gate.
But when Kong Feichen left, the mysterious expert who used just a withered leaf shattered his confidence gained from that victorious strike.
He was still too weak and needed to cultivate and elevate his realm.
"Kong Feichen of the Medical Dao Palace has colluded with the Ascension Sect, severely violating the laws of the Immortal Gate, and has been listed as a second-level fugitive by the Immortal Gate. Any cultivator who can provide clues may receive a reward of one hundred thousand Good Deeds."
Lan Hai Tian suddenly said this.
Chen Mobai stood still, unmoved.
What did Kong Feichen have to do with him? Since he had chosen this path, whether he lived or died was all up to his own luck.
"The Zhengfa Hall has also issued a notice: whoever slays Kong Feichen will be rewarded with a Barrier-Breaking Pill and six hundred thousand Good Deeds."
Chen Mobai's eyes lit up at this.
"A small Barrier-Breaking Pill or a large one?"
The Barrier-Breaking Pill is one of the most popular second-tier medicinal pills in the Immortal Gate, which, as the name suggests, helps cultivators break through bottlenecks.
The small Barrier-Breaking Pill is for minor bottlenecks, such as moving from the first to the second layer of Foundation Establishment or from the fourth to the fifth layer.
The large Barrier-Breaking Pill, on the other hand, is for major bottlenecks, such as moving from the third to the fourth layer or from the sixth to the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment.
But whether it's a small or large Barrier-Breaking Pill, it's the most precious medicine for the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Immortal Gate.
Because the Immortal Gate has a comprehensive and mature system of spiritual medicines and Spirit Water for cultivating and enhancing spiritual power, but the barriers between realms can only be overcome by a handful of two or three types of medicinal pills.
Even at the Weaponry Dao Academy, whenever Barrier-Breaking Pills appear during the end-of-term score exchange, they are guaranteed to be snatched up in an instant.
"The large one."
Lan Hai Tian's lips curled into a smile, giving Chen Mobai a surprising answer.
"He's actually worth that price."
"What, are you thinking of capturing him to exchange for a Barrier-Breaking Pill?"
"I'm considering it, but mainly I find it hard to believe that a mere Qi Refining cultivator like him would warrant such a reward from the Zhengfa Hall."
Lan Hai Tian initially had the same thought, but the higher the reward, the stronger the motivation for their Mending the Sky Division. Moreover, after hearing Lin Yin's report and thinking it over, it wasn't hard to understand that the person behind this matter must be very formidable.
So it made sense.
"If you join the Mending the Sky Division, once Kong Feichen's whereabouts are discovered within the Immortal Gate, you'll be the first to know."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You have a good relationship with his sister, right? You'd probably want to save both him and that girl who practiced the forbidden technique. If you're in the Mending the Sky Division, I can turn a blind eye."
Hearing Lan Hai Tian's words, Chen Mobai couldn't help but laugh wryly, shaking his head.
"It seems you still don't understand me."
After saying that, Chen Mobai raised his phone and turned to leave.
"If I reach the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment and can't find another way to obtain the Golden Elixir of Jade Restoration, I'll consider joining the Mending the Sky Division. But for now, I at least want my freedom."
"Freedom? Joining the Mending the Sky Division is also very free; you just need to complete five tasks a year."
Lan Hai Tian tried to persuade him one last time.
But Chen Mobai was not interested at all.
"I owe you a favor. If you need help with anything near Red City Mountain, you can call me."
After saying this, Chen Mobai leaped up and left the Evergreen Medicine Shop.
"Team leader, I thought you had already recruited him into the division?"
Lin Yin's figure emerged above the medicinal cauldron behind Lan Hai Tian.
She wore a black mask, tall and leggy with fair skin. The only flaw, perhaps, was her flat chest, showing no curves at all.
"I'm just a person, after all; I can't make everything go smoothly."
Lan Hai Tian shrugged and sighed in response to her words.
"No, the other person, as you expected, team leader, agreed to join the Mending the Sky Division as soon as I explained the purpose."
Hearing Lin Yin's words, Lan Hai Tian's lips formed a smile.
"Although I didn't increase the manpower for Division Six, at least Division Four gained a talent. This trip was somewhat fruitful."
"Team leader, but her only condition for joining the Mending the Sky Division is to come to our Division Six."
"What!"
Lan Hai Tian turned in surprise, but he quickly realized what she meant.
"Reject her. We don't need her in Division Six."
"Team leader, she has a Heavenly Spiritual Root."
"A Heavenly Spiritual Root just means fast cultivation and no bottlenecks. We in Division Six only need ruthless people."
"I think her determination seems strong. With training, she might become a qualified member of Division Six."
Lin Yin felt it was a pity to let go of such a talent and tried to persuade him, but Lan Hai Tian remained unmoved.
"Division Six only needs those who are naturally ruthless, like Chen Mobai."