Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Pa!
A resounding slap to the face sent Qing Feng flying.
Sang Hongmei's grim face now seemed coated in ink, every wrinkle exuding thick killing intent.
"Useless thing, this is the result you give me?"
Qing Feng prostrated himself, not daring to rise. "Qing Feng was incompetent and disappointed the Fairy! But the Wind Squad took heavy losses this time, and I have no good explanation to give to Hall Master Yun. Madame Fairy, please support me on this!"
Although Qing Feng had been acting on Sang Hongmei's orders, Sang Hongmei was not the master of Hidden Dragon Hall. Qing Feng had been willing to obey her because Sang Hongmei was the one who had supported him. Although he was a part of Hidden Dragon Hall, he now belonged to her faction.
It was like if Xie Fengtang had told Tang Jie to do something. Even though Tang Jie was part of the Secret Hall, he would still carry out the mission.
The Wind Squad had now suffered a massive loss, but this loss was taken by Hidden Dragon Hall, not Sang Hongmei. The Hall Master of Hidden Dragon Hall, Yun Xiyang, was bound to be furious once he learned of this matter, and Qing Feng was bound to be punished.
Thus, Qing Feng could only beg Sang Hongmei for help, as she was the only one who could take the blame and ensure that he kept his post as captain of the Wind Squad.
Sang Hongmei thumped her dragonhead cane and roared, "I haven't even punished you for your incompetence yet, and you want me to take Yu Xiyang's anger for you?"
Qing Feng's heart trembled. "Fairy, I was doing it for you!"
"But you failed," Sang Hongmei said in disdain. "I waited for you for two years, but you didn't manage to do a thing."
Qing Feng's heart was ice-cold, but he still struggled on. "Fairy, I'm only asking you to speak up for me!"
"Bullshit! You think that these words are that easy to say? The Wind Squad suffered such heavy losses that there's simply no hiding it. Do you really think a few words will be enough to make Yun Xiyang ignore it? To protect you, I would have to convince a whole group of people, begging them in a soft voice and accepting all the conditions they propose… impossible!"
It wasn't impossible, but she just didn't think it was worth it.
Qing Feng realized this.
Despairing, he said, "In other words, you're abandoning me, right?"
Sang Hongmei smirked. "There's no point in keeping around a dog that can't do its job."
"Sang Hongmei—!" Qing Feng yelled.
Pa!
Another slap sent Qing Feng flying, and Sang Hongmei coldly said, "Out of consideration for your past service, I'll spare you this time. But if you dare to be so rude again, don't think I don't have the guts to kill you! Scram!"
Throwing up blood, Qing Feng held his chest and returned to Hidden Dragon Hall.
He was still the captain of the Wind Squad, but he knew that the countdown had already begun.
Without Sang Hongmei's support, once Yun Xiyang returned and learned of this matter, he would be removed from his post, with even a chance of being sent to the Black Prison.
The Wind Squad's quarters were a picture of misery, the unprecedented loss casting a giant shadow over everyone's hearts. In the end, few were able to grow indifferent to death. Cultivators were people too, and they also felt fear in the face of such gruesome slaughter.
Qing Feng sat down, the entire world seeming dull and drab.
After some time, a subordinate came over. "Captain, there's news from the prison."
"The Black Prison?" Qing Feng mechanically asked.
The subordinate saw the state he was in and reminded, "It was the people you wanted me to seize from Cherryfall."
Qing Feng then recalled that he had ordered for all the people of Cherryfall that Xu Miaoran had interacted with to be arrested and interrogated to see if there were any problems with them.
"Take me there."
Qing Feng went to the prison with the subordinate.
The subordinate brought Qing Feng to the cell holding the old Zhang couple. He pointed at them and said, "This couple was running a dessert shop in the town. They came to Cherryfall two years ago and seemed like ordinary people, but when the Truth Returning Mirror was used on them, something seemed off. It was like their spiritual energy had been sealed."
"You're saying…"
"They might be cultivators," the subordinate replied.
Qing Feng narrowed his eyes.
The Zhang couple had begun shouting that they were innocent when they saw Qing Feng, not realizing that their identities had been exposed. The Truth Returning Mirror was an inspection treasure made by the Seven Absolutions Sect and sold at a high price, and not even members of Hidden Dragon Hall could use it as they pleased. Qing Feng had used his status as captain to obtain one, and it had turned out to be very useful.
"Do you know what sealing art it was?" Qing Feng asked.
"We're still not sure, which is why we've requested Captain's help."
Qing Feng's strength was average, but his eyes were extremely sharp, and he knew the sealing arts of various sects like the back of his hand. Without this ability, he would have never been able to become captain of the Wind Squad, even with his connections.
Qing Feng stepped into the cell, grabbed Old Zhang's arm, and sent a stream of spiritual energy into the old man's meridians.
Old Zhang was aghast, realizing that he was in trouble, but it was too late to try anything.
In the end, he was only a spy, so he hadn't been especially strong in the first place, not even considering that his powers were sealed. Qing Feng's spiritual power swiftly completed a circuit of his body, finding out everything that could be found out about him. On the side, Auntie Zhang tried to help her husband, but Qing Feng reached out with his right hand and grabbed the woman by the neck, sending in spiritual power that also gave her a thorough inspection.
"Boulder," Qing Feng muttered, his words causing the Zhang couple to feel like their souls had left their bodies.
The sealing art they had used was known as the Boulder, which was a reference to how when this art was used, one's body would become like a boulder, spiritual energy no longer able to circulate, such that even gods and Immortals wouldn't be able to tell that one was a cultivator.
This was an exaggeration, of course, but it truly was a wondrous sealing art, with most inspection methods having no effect. This was why the couple hadn't fled and had let the Wind Squad capture them. They hadn't expected the Wind Squad to be so capable as to see through it.
To know that this was the Boulder Art was to know where Xu Miaoran's confidence lay.
Because this was a special art of the Basking Moon Sect.
The couple was filled with remorse. If they had known this was going to happen, they would have put aside any thoughts of surviving and tried to break out of the Wind Squad's encirclement. But at the time, the couple had considered that they still might expose themselves as Basking Moon Sect members with the techniques they used, so they ultimately chose this approach. To their surprise, they had still failed to hide it, and they inwardly despaired.
The subordinate hadn't made out what Qing Feng had said, and got closer. "What?"
But Qing Feng fell silent.
He had finally found something, but so what? Finding out where Xu Miaoran had gotten her trump card from wouldn't atone for his past mistakes. Yun Xiyang had no interest in Xu Miaoran's affairs, and no matter how well he did on this particular matter, he could not soothe Yun Xiyang's rage.
As for Sang Hongmei…
Qing Feng recalled Sang Hongmei's loathsome expression and how she had callously abandoned him.
This damn bitch!
Better to believe in a pig than put my faith in her!
Thinking this, he loosened his grip.
"It's nothing!" he said. "These two aren't spies."
"What?" Three people were taken aback, the Zhang couple so shocked that they had even forgotten how they should react—real ordinary people should have been praising the high heavens at this point.
Qing Feng let go and said, "I said that they aren't spies, just a couple selling desserts."
The subordinate looked at the old couple, who were staring at Qing Feng, still digesting what had happened.
The subordinate stammered, "But… but… the Truth Returning Mirror…"
"The Truth Returning Mirror can be wrong," Qing Feng firmly said. "The one I got was the one in our stock that was showing problems, or else they wouldn't have let me use it."
"But there didn't seem to be anything wrong when we were using it."
"You guys think you could see the flaws in a treasure? Nobody understands more than me what sort of mirror I picked!" Qing Feng harshly said.
The subordinate realized that he had made a mistake. A superior was always right. How could he forget that? He hastily said, "Yes, this lowly one understands."
Qing Feng raised his hand. "There are no spies here. Give the Truth Returning Mirror to me, and I'll take it back. As for the others…"
Glancing profoundly at the old couple, Qing Feng said, "Let them all go."
The Zhang couple finally realized what they should be doing and immediately prostrated, howling, "Oh Praise Lord Qing!" and putting on quite the convincing act.
Qing Feng strode away.
Three days later, the news came.
Yun Xiyang had demoted Qing Feng from Wind Captain to an ordinary executor of Hidden Dragon Hall. Because of his status as a Heart Demon cultivator, he hadn't been demoted to the lowest level.
—————————
Without the Wind Squad's spying, the inter-domain trade became active once more.
Xu Miaoran now began frequently going in and out of the teleportation formation, and the starving market finally had a chance to eat its fill. No matter what sort of material was put into the market, it would be eaten up before it had time to get warm.
At the busiest time, Xu Miaoran even had to make several trips between domains on the same day. This situation lasted for around a month, and as large quantities of materials entered the market, the prices gradually stabilized. Of course, Xu Miaoran was still obtaining unprecedented profit, and her shriveled Mustard Seed Bag once more began to bulge.
At the same time, the All-Talent Society also began to thrive.
Armed with immense wealth, Xu Miaoran spared no expense to support the cultivation of its members. To this end, she even put down in writing that each member of the society could receive a subsidy of spirit coins from the society, with the amount depending on the cultivation level of the member. The amount given was normally three times what the sect would give.
For stronger cultivators, this amount of money wasn't a big deal. After all, they had reached the stage where they no longer depended on the sect to get by, and going on a single mission would get them much more. But for weaker cultivators, this money was extremely important. If used properly, these spirit coins would ultimately become their strength. Having more money coming in than others meant that they would progress faster.
For this reason, countless disciples of Horizon Ocean Pavilion were anxious to join the All-Talent Society.
Xu Miaoran naturally didn't take just anyone. She used this opportunity to recruit the elites of the sect.
Money couldn't help her control the upper echelons, but it could help her take control of the foundational power of Horizon Ocean Pavilion. As time passed and the disciples grew stronger, these people would ultimately become the backbone of Horizon Ocean Pavilion.
This was a long-term investment, and until they grew up, she would be paying out without receiving anything in return. And mishaps were inevitable, like death, giving up, or even betrayal. Even oaths upon the Heavenly Dao or the Heart Demon couldn't stop those people harboring ill intentions. Nobody knew how many fruits the tree one planted would bear, or if the tree would be ruined before the fruit had ripened.
But Xu Miaoran still chose to do it.
Since she had made her choice, there was no going back. She could wait and she could pay. A power of her own began to grow within Horizon Ocean Pavilion.
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