Chapter 6: An Outsider Has Arrived?

The early morning at Mount Sanqing is fresh and tranquil.

Thin mist floats gently among the mountains, like a mysterious veil, bestowing an endless sense of mystery upon the great peaks.

The Sanqing Blessed Land lies quietly within the gauze-like morning mist, resembling a sleeping giant.

As the sun slowly rises, all things gradually awaken, and a ray of sunlight shines into the room from the windowsill of the pavilion.

An Zhi is still fast asleep; perhaps she was too exhausted last night, as she actually forgot to wake up early today.

Not even the sounds of the others practicing their morning exercises below the pavilion could wake her.

*Dong~~~ Dong~~~~ Dong~~~~~*

As a series of "dong-dong-dong" sounds approached from afar, An Zhi opened her eyes. She clearly remembered that this was the sound of a cane.

Oh no, Uncle-Master Fan is here.

An Zhi nimbly got up and stuffed her bedding under the bed.

Fan Jin arrived at An Zhi’s room, leaning on his cane. He used the cane to knock on the door: "An Zhi, why aren't you up yet?"

"Up, up, I'm up!" An Zhi hurriedly opened the door. Looking at Fan Jin’s weathered face, she felt a bit embarrassed: "I, I, I..." For a moment, she forgot how to explain herself.

"I’m heading to the Sanqing Hall in a while. Remember to tidy up the few ancient books on my table," Fan Jin said, then turned to look at the distant sun and continued, "Only by rising with the crowing of the rooster can one hope to achieve something."

Hearing this, An Zhi knew that Fan Jin was dissatisfied with her and was using his words to reprimand her, so she said, "Thank you for the reminder, Uncle-Master. It won't happen again, it won't happen again." After speaking, she didn't forget to step forward to support Fan Jin.

Seeing that An Zhi’s attitude toward admitting her mistake was quite good, Fan Jin felt it would be inappropriate to continue criticizing her: "I’m going to the Sanqing Hall shortly. You stay in the courtyard and don't run around."

An Zhi caught something in the words "don't run around," so she asked, "Uncle-Master, has something happened?"

Fan Jin was silent for a moment, then tapped a stone lion with his cane and said, "The eight spirit demons used for testing new disciples in the back mountain have disappeared overnight. I don't know if they were killed or if they escaped, so don't go running around."

Upon hearing this, An Zhi looked around in surprise. Weren't they the ones she had finished off last night? But she still had to feign ignorance and ask, "Ah? Then, if they ran out, wouldn't that be dangerous?"

Though she said this, she was actually excited inside.

Fan Jin frowned and said, "The main hall has summoned me."

With that, Fan Jin leaned on his cane and walked out of the Blessed Land. Before leaving the courtyard, he didn't forget to add, "Don't forget to tidy up those ancient books of mine."

"You got it, Uncle-Master!" An Zhi replied excitedly, then turned and went back into the house: "Snake Treasure, Snake Treasure..."

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Sanqing Hall.

The hall is magnificent, with its interior supported by multiple massive red pillars. Each pillar is carved with a coiling, lifelike golden dragon, which is exceptionally spectacular.

Some disciples and elders of the Sanqing Palace have already gathered here, discussing the events of this morning.

Seeing Elder Fan Jin arrive, the senior disciple of Sanqing Palace, Ke Da, came forward to report: "Uncle-Master, I led fifteen people to the back mountain for the assessment this morning, but all the spirit demons were gone. Luo Ling is currently leading people to search the entire back mountain."

Ke Da, a seven-coin demon catcher and the senior disciple of Sanqing, held the Yuxu Sword, one of the three treasures of Sanqing.

As they spoke, Luo Ling returned to the main hall with a group of female disciples. Seeing that the elders had all gathered, she exchanged a look with Ke Da and reported: "Elders, we did not find the spirit demons in the back mountain."

"They must have escaped by some other means."

"It's also possible they were wiped out by someone last night."

Faced with everyone's conflicting opinions, Elder Taiqing was very angry. If the spirit demons had been wiped out, it would be a story, but if they had escaped from Mount Sanqing, it would truly be an accident.

Especially if the spirit demons escaped Mount Sanqing and went out to commit evil, the reputation of the Sanqing Palace would be greatly damaged.

Therefore, Elder Taiqing was furious. He questioned Luo Ling unceremoniously: "Luo Ling, you female disciples were the last to leave the assessment yesterday, and you were the ones who led the team to enter the grounds first this morning. Did you not seal the stone gate?"

The stone gate is the only legitimate entrance to the back mountain. With the spirit demons missing, the blame would certainly fall on Luo Ling.

Elder Taiqing is an elder of the Sanqing Palace, second only to Fan Jin in rank. He is specifically responsible for the security of the Sanqing Palace. He has a very short temper and is extremely strict in managing others; both Luo Ling and the younger disciples dislike this elder.

Now that the spirit demons were missing, this counted as a very serious accident, and the Sect Leader, Yuxu, would certainly hold them accountable.

Facing Elder Taiqing’s finger-pointing, Luo Ling was afraid of this short-tempered elder. If she talked back, she might be disciplined on the spot. She looked at Senior Brother Ke Da with pitiful eyes, signaling for him to help her out.

Ke Da and Luo Ling had an ambiguous relationship. Faced with the elder's accusations, he, as the senior disciple, stepped forward to smooth things over: "Elder, it is too early to conclude that they are lost just because we haven't found them."

"Yes, yes, I think it's possible they were wiped out by someone." Reminded by Ke Da, Luo Ling actually recalled some details: "We found traces of a struggle, especially in the Furong Cave in the back mountain. The traces of the fight were very obvious."

Other disciples echoed her sentiments.

Elder Taiqing frowned and looked at Fan Jin, asking skeptically: "Could it be? Has an outsider come to Mount Sanqing again?"

It wasn't the first time outsiders had come to Mount Sanqing, and everyone began to chatter about this matter.

I don't know how much time passed, but the discussion never reached a conclusion, though the possibility of the spirit demons being wiped out seemed greater.

Fan Jin nodded, sat in his chair, and stroked his beard, saying: "Investigate it quickly."

"Yes!" Luo Ling bowed and left with suppressed anger.

Just as she walked out of the Sanqing Hall, Luo Ling angrily punched a stone pillar. She hadn't expected Elder Taiqing to question her in front of everyone without even clarifying the facts.

"Junior Sister."

Suddenly, Senior Brother Ke Da appeared behind Luo Ling. He placed his left hand on her left shoulder and said: "Junior Sister, are you sure there were traces of a fight at the scene?"

"You don't believe me either?" Luo Ling looked at Ke Da, feeling wronged, and questioned: "Those old fogies don't believe me, and you don't either?"

"No, no, I might not trust anyone else, but I absolutely trust you! Hehe." After saying this, Ke Da began to comfort her: "However, we really must find out the truth quickly. It will be troublesome if the Sect Leader asks about this."

Luo Ling then gave an evil smile; in fact, she already had a plan: "Senior Brother, release two fourth-tier spirit demons tonight."

"Ah! That's hard to control." Although Ke Da was a bit hesitant, he voiced his concern.

A fourth-tier spirit demon is only one step away from becoming a full-fledged monster, and its abilities are much stronger than the previous second-tier ones. Luo Ling was clearly driven mad by anger; she wanted to use the hands of the demons to test or eliminate this outsider on Mount Sanqing.

"What's hard to control? Can't you just lead people to follow behind?" Luo Ling was a bit angry. Usually, Ke Da would follow her around calling her "Junior Sister," but at a critical moment, he seemed unwilling.

"Hehehe, yes, yes, whatever Junior Sister says is right." Ke Da said, revealing a look of infatuation.

……

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Sanqing Blessed Land, Pavilion.

An Zhi knew that something big was going to happen at the Sanqing Hall today, but it didn't matter to her anymore.

The entire morning, after she finished all the cleaning and filing of the ancient books, the Spirit Snake used the [Dream Realm] skill to bring An Zhi into a dream to meet the Demon Slayer Meng Hong. Under Meng Hong's guidance, she digested the ten spirit demon seals she had obtained last night.

As the noon sun reached its zenith, the mountain stood silently under the blue sky like a silent giant beast.

An Zhi slowly opened her eyes. The joint cultivation with the Demon Slayer just now made her feel as if it were a real existence.

"How is it? Any changes?" Seeing An Zhi wake up, the Spirit Snake immediately asked with concern.

An Zhi sat cross-legged on the ground, taking deep breaths, still feeling unsatisfied: "Wow, one word: awesome. I can feel the spiritual power in my body increasing, very clearly, really."

An Zhi had never felt this way before. She gathered all her spiritual power into her finger and pointed it at a painting in the distance.

*Bang...*

The painting burst instantly, startling both An Zhi and the Spirit Snake.

"Hehe, this is the feeling of growth. Keep it up, we'll go again tonight. I believe you'll be able to become a demon catcher soon." The Spirit Snake kept encouraging An Zhi.

"Are there any other places? We can't just keep going to the back mountain," An Zhi said, voicing her concern. Her strength wasn't enough yet, and if she were discovered, she might face the risk of being expelled from the sect.

The Spirit Snake pondered for a moment, drooping its head, and said: "No, let's go see again tonight."

(End of chapter)