Wayfarer-Chapter 261: Uprooting

There was a large island in the Eastern Sea. A stone tablet had been erected by the harbor, on which were the two words "Jingang Temple." The island was surrounded by fog, and a formation flickered in and out of existence.

As night fell, a red-robed monk carrying two unconscious male disciples flew through the formation as he murmured a mantra.

A stone Buddha stood on the island, before which was a broad plaza where a number of monks had gathered.

The red-robed man flew into the plaza and tossed the two disciples down.

"These are two Taiqing disciples I found practicing turtle-breathing in the sea near Taiqing Island. I caught them and brought them here. It saved me quite a bit of time. Start interrogating them," the red-robed monk commanded.

"Understood!" the monks in the plaza replied.

The two Taiqing disciples were trussed up as the monks interrogated them for information about Taiqing Island.

Just then, a scarred monk walked over.

"Senior Uncle!" The monks bowed respectfully.

"Continue your interrogation. Don't worry about me." the scarred monk waved a hand, beckoning for the monks to get back to work.

"Understood!"

The scarred monk told the red-robed monk, "You've already kidnapped more than a few Taiqing disciples from beyond Taiqing Island. Be careful not to get caught."

"Don't worry, Senior Uncle. I've been very careful about things. The Taiqing Immortal Sect only ever loses one or two disciples at a time, and they won't discover anything amiss for the short term. More importantly, my master has tasked me with keeping track of the Taiqing Sect's activities. The best and most accurate way of doing so is to interrogate Taiqing disciples directly." The red-robed monk smiled.

"Your master's being too cautious in Xiao Hongye's lands. What threat could that land possibly pose? If it were me, I'd sweep through the cities by myself and seize all that land," the scarred monk replied dismissively.

The red-robed monk bowed his head and smiled. "Please calm down, Senior Uncle. Master's aware of the enmity that you bear toward Xiao Hongye, and he's worried that you'll incite retaliation from the Tianshu Empire.

"Those are extraneous concerns. It's true that I bear Xiao Hongye enmity, but he's already gone missing. Why would I act rashly? With the return of the Xiang cultivators, uprisings are occurring all over the Tianshu Empire. Who would have the time to pay attention to Xiao Hongye's lands? My two senior brothers are Wingform-realm cultivators who can take on any opponent. Why waste so much time trying to capture Xiao Nanfeng?"

"They were worried that Ku Jiang and Hong Lie might be stationed in Yongding, but that problem has been solved. If I'm not mistaken, Master and Senior Uncle Xu Kong will be back with Xiao Nanfeng at any moment now," the red-robed monk replied.

Just then, golden light flashed through the formation overhead as a bloodied figure fell to the ground beside the two monks, smashing into the stone floor.

"Who is it?!" Everyone turned to the commotion.

"Master? Is that you?!" the red-robed monk exclaimed.

"What? Is that Senior Brother Xu Ming?!" the scarred monk exclaimed.

The bloodied figure in front of them had lost one arm and one leg, and his skin was decomposing and peeling off. It was almost impossible to recognize Xu Ming's features, but the silhouette he struck was clearly that of Xu Ming.

"What happened to you, Senior Brother?!" The scarred monk hurriedly gave Xu Ming first aid.

"Inform the abbot immediately!" someone cried out.

Countless monks gathered by the plaza. The abbot of the Jingang Temple, radiating with holy light, rushed out and assisted the scarred monk in tending to Xu Ming's body.

Two hours later, Xu Ming slowly awakened.

"Senior Brother, you're awake! Who injured you this badly? I'll kill him!" the scarred monk cried out. freew(e)bnovel.(c)om

"How did you end up so badly injured? Where's Xu Kong?" the Jingang abbot asked.

Xu Ming was silent for long moments. Then, spitting out a mouthful of blood, he began, "Abbot—Senior Brother, I apologize. I fell prey to Xiao Nanfeng's trap, and Junior Brother Xu Kong perished."

"What?!" the monks shouted.

Xu Ming's face contorted in malice as he recounted what had happened.

"Cui Haisheng hoodwinked you, and Xiao Nanfeng took advantage of that? Xiao Nanfeng's truly a demon that belongs in the underworld like his father," the scarred monk thundered.

"Abbot, as I escaped, Xiao Nanfeng promised that he would kill all my subordinates in the Xiao lands. I don't care about the rogue soldiers, but quite a number of disciples from the Jingang Temple are in their midst. Xiao Nanfeng has the support of three Wingform-realm cultivators, and he'll surely take advantage of his victory to take them all down. The Jingang Temple is going to suffer huge losses if we don't do anything," Xu Ming fretted.

"We'll head over there immediately and rally the Jingang disciples. He won't succeed!" the scarred monk cried out.

"Calm down, Xu Fa," the abbot replied.

"Senior Brother Xu Kong is dead, and Senior Brother Xu Ming is badly hurt! How am I supposed to calm down? Abbot, I'm going to head over there right now and raze Yongding to the ground!" the scarred monk cried out.

"You'll go nowhere," the abbot replied.

"Why not?" the scarred monk gritted out.

"Xu Fa, the abbot's right. If you rush over in this state of mind, you might be trapped in one of Xiao Nanfeng's schemes," Xu Ming wheezed, coughing out blood.

"I'm just trying to take revenge for you! How could you be against that?" The scarred monk seemed discomfited by the resistance to his plan.

"We'll surely take revenge for Xu Kong, but we have to remain calm. We can't be trapped by Xiao Nanfeng again. You won't go anywhere," Xu Ming demanded.

The scarred monk scowled.

The abbot thought for a moment. "Have Xiao Nanfeng's two toad spirits reached Wingform? That would explain everything. I see."

"What do you mean, Abbot?" Xu Ming asked.

"Recently, someone has been continuously excavating draconic veins under spiritbeast lairs. The sects of the Eastern Sea have been trying to figure out who the culprit was, but no one had any insight. Now, however, it's all but certain that Xiao Nanfeng was responsible. The news that he was at the draconic palace was just a red herring. He's actually been excavating draconic veins with his toad spirits! To think he would have such precise knowledge about the distribution of draconic veins across the Eastern Sea... He has a lot of secrets, doesn't he?" The abbot narrowed his eyes.

"I see." Xu Ming nodded.

Although there was no definitive evidence, he believed in the abbot's deduction.

"Abbot, what should we do about Xiao Hongye's titled lands? Will the Jingang Temple disciples be recalled?" Xu Ming asked.

"Why would they be recalled? We've chosen to fight against the Tianshu Empire, and we'll have to get used to death and loss. When the Taiqing Immortal Sect helped Nalan Qiankun establish the Tianshu Empire, many of its elders perished, including the Ascended division leader Zhao Tianjue. Despite those deaths, they ultimately managed to found their empire. We might have encountered a setback, but if we can claim eventual victory, then everything will have been worthwhile. Not for nothing will Junior Brother Xu Kong have died. We simply need to take revenge. I'll personally accompany you to the Xiao lands. Xiao Nanfeng has three Wingform-realm subordinates, but according to your description, they've only entered Wingform recently. They don't represent a huge threat," the abbot concluded.

"I think so too. As long as we can capture Xiao Nanfeng, we'll be able to take our revenge and gain access to the undying realm that he controls. We'll even be able to figure out his secrets regarding the draconic veins around the Eastern Sea." Xu Ming nodded.

"Time is of the essence. Recuperate now. I'll be summoning the disciples of the temple to return to the Xiao lands with us. We must hurry," the abbott said.

"I understand!" Xu Ming nodded firmly.

"And what about me?" the scarred monk asked.

"Xu Fa, you'll stay here and guard the sect," the abbot replied.

"What?!" The scarred monk glowered,

but the abbot refused to change his mind. He was forced to remain.

Xu Ming consumed a great deal of spiritual pills. Deep in meditation, he urged his limbs to regrow. Within half a day, his skin was shedding and being knitted anew as well.

However, his new limbs were still extremely weak, and it would take a significant amount of time before they would be as flexible and easy to manipulate as his original ones.

The next day, at daybreak, the abbot of the Jingang Temple, Xu Ming, and some Spiritsong-realm monks flew across the sea, dragging thousands of Jingang disciples behind them in a large net.

Meanwhile, on a rocky island shrouded by fog not too far away, Xiao Nanfeng and thousands of Taiqing disciples were watching the Jingang procession leave.

"King Xiao, you were right. The Jingang disciples are headed to the Xiao lands with thousands of monks. I suppose we'll have much on our plates for the long run," Ye Sanshui commented, smiling wryly.

"If they intend to seize my lands, then I shall do the same to them first. The Jingang abbot himself has set off. There's no one skilled left except for the monk Xu Fa. We'll sneak in, excavate the draconic vein, and raise our cultivation," Xiao Nanfeng informed everyone.

"Understood!" thousands of Taiqing disciples cried out.

They had just claimed ten cities in the Xiao lands before Xiao Nanfeng suddenly summoned them all. They expected that Xiao Nanfeng was going to have an ordinary feast; none of them could have imagined that Xiao Nanfeng would bring them all to feast on a draconic vein instead. What a pleasant surprise!

"It won't be easy to break through the Jingang Temple's protective formation, will it?" Ye Sanshui frowned.

"No, it's trivial." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

Any time a disciple walked in or out of the Jingang Temple, there would be an opportunity to strike. Many Jingang disciples were crossing in and out, and You Jiu had already snuck in.

A huge crash resounded from within the temple as the main formation shattered.

"Senior Uncle Xu Fa, something's wrong! Someone has destroyed the island-protecting formation!" a disciple exclaimed.

"What? Who?!" The scarred monk's roar could be heard from afar.

Two huge spirits landed on the island. Croak and Warble had appeared as vanguards.

Huge quantities of dust filtered into the air.

"Go on. We'll claim the island for ourselves!" Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

"Understood!" the Taiqing disciples cried out in excitement.

The Spiritsong-realm elders, ferrying thousands of Taiqing disciples in a huge net, began to swarm the island.

"It's Xiao Nanfeng—he's come with thousands of Taiqing disciples! Help!" The Jingang disciples began to panic.

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