"Daoist... the Daoist is dead?"
"Not good, run for it!"
The remaining cavalry, seeing Young Master Shen Xiu’s terrifying demonic might and the fall of Spiritual Crane Daoist, couldn’t help but scatter and flee, wishing their parents had given them an extra pair of legs.
This Young Master Shen Xiu was obviously a giant of the Demon Path, showing no regard for imperial laws.
So-called rules and systems are meant to be followed; once taken lightly and without the means to suppress and punish, they become no different from waste paper.
He even dared to kill the Spiritual Crane; he would not hesitate for a moment to slaughter them in the practice of his spells.
Fortunately for them, Young Master Shen Xiu seemed to look down on these knights, letting them escape.
Of course, this was deliberate on Zhong Shenxiu’s part. How could he blend in if he didn’t let some people get away?
Now that everyone scattered, there would be plenty of excuses for regrouping later.
He galloped along while sorting through Spiritual Crane’s memories.
Lu Huolong was a decent person; he did not wish to desecrate his divine soul. But he wasn’t so courteous with Spiritual Crane.
Spiritual Crane Daoist was Feng Xixi’s senior brother, a true inheritor of the Cloud Mirror Sect teachings and serving as a Seventh-rank Demon Suppression Envoy at the Great Protector’s Mansion, so he was privy to ample information.
Secrets within the Protector’s Mansion, relations between different forces, the covert development of strongholds within the secular world, and so on were of great use to Zhong Shenxiu.
Having reviewed these, he next looked at Spiritual Crane Daoist’s cultivation memories.
"So, the main gate of the Cloud Mirror Sect is also in Luo State, and the sect has only one Primordial Pill Ancestor, who is said to be over four hundred years old. The true Daoist skills include two texts: ’Xuantian Cloud Mirror Scripture’ and ’Incomplete Huangting Yin Talisman Classic’... Of these, the ’Xuantian Cloud Mirror Scripture’ is unique to the Sect Leader’s lineage, capable of advancing practitioners to the Primordial Pill Realm. The Yin Talisman is incomplete and severely fragmented; after various attempts at restoration, it can only bring cultivators as far as the Divine Power Realm... Feng Xixi practices the Yin Talisman, tsk, such a high-born lady, proud of her status, entering an Immortal Sect is huge fortune. Yet in secret she is still looked down upon by Spiritual Crane who, being part of the Sect Leader’s lineage, practices the Cloud Mirror Scripture with hopes of forming his Primordial Pill..."
This ’Xuantian Cloud Mirror Scripture’ was undoubtedly far superior to the White Bone Scholar’s techniques, and Zhong Shenxiu instantly became interested to check the specific chants.
Just then, his expression changed as he caught a minor memory: "Within Daoist orders, any true inheritor skills and the prohibitions Dharma Transmission Elders impose during impartation remain inaccessible to outsiders, even to those attempting a Soul Search, which would instead cause a backlash... Not good!"
within the alternative dimension created by the Headless Earl, the spirit of Spiritual Crane Daoist initially had a blank expression, but suddenly it contorted with severe pain.
A layer of translucent radiance burst forth from inside him, causing his head and body to swell incessantly...
After swelling to the limit, the soul that transformed into a sphere violently exploded with tremendous force.
Dark waves churned all around, rippling and sweeping away the shockwaves from the blast.
When the explosion subsided, the alternative dimension returned to normal, but the Spiritual Crane Daoist was completely destroyed, leaving no trace in this world.
Zhong Shenxiu riding on his horse jolted and then cursed under his breath, "Lucky that I reviewed the other memories first, otherwise this could’ve been a huge loss..."
"These Daoist orders are truly vexing, hoarding their true teachings as greedily as misers; Loose Cultivators are more straightforward..."
Those Loose Cultivators who had fortuitously acquired their Cultivation Techniques had no such prohibitions or issues, and their secrets could be obtained through a Soul Search.
Besides this was the secret Lu Huolong had revealed at the end.
Whatever lay hidden within the Poison Dragon Cave didn’t matter to Zhong Shenxiu; he had no plans to go himself. He just intended to sell the information and could possibly sell it twice for extra benefit.
"The most critical issue, however, is how Su Daoshi came to learn about this matter; Young Master Shen Xiu knowing doesn’t mean Su Daoshi is aware unless I decide to expose my identity..."
"This will require careful handling; to start, I could sell a copy to White Bone Scholar and others, and then perhaps... I could make use of the intelligence nodes and operation methods from Spiritual Crane Daoist’s memories."
As a Demon Suppression Envoy, Spiritual Crane Daoist had managed many Law Enforcement Envoys and Evil Slayer Envoys, specifically handling affairs of the Loose Cultivation World within Fufeng Protectorate, and worked behind the scenes for Cloud Mirror Sect, developing an intelligence network.
Currently, that network was as transparent as glass to Zhong Shenxiu, without the slightest secret to speak of.
"But we must act quickly, because as soon as there’s a change of personnel, they are likely to change some of the passwords..."
Zhong Shenxiu spurred his horse on at a gallop, arriving at Fufeng City, the southern city training ground, to seek an audience with Feng Xixi.
"What? The Spiritual Crane is dead? Killed by Young Master Shen Xiu?!"
Within the tent, Feng Xixi stood up in surprise.
No matter what, the Spiritual Crane Daoist was her senior brother, with a level of Daoist Skill far above her own, and he even had a slim hope of becoming the Sect Leader, his status within the sect far above hers.
The death of such a True Inheritor was no small matter in any Daoist sect.
"I must report this to the sect immediately..."
Feng Xixi quickly decided, looking at Zhong Shenxiu with amazement in her eyes, "You’re involved in a matter with a Superpower Expert and you managed to survive, you’re quite fortunate."
"Perhaps those kinds of experts disdain to trouble themselves with us lowly creatures," Zhong Shenxiu replied unashamed, "There are also many comrades who managed to escape. I fear the Great Protector’s Mansion will soon be summoned to discuss this."
"Hmph, after all is said and done, it’s just about someone bullying the common people in the streets, and now it’s a complete mess."
Feng Xixi snorted coldly, almost speechless.
When it came down to it, it was just like some filthy affair of a wealthy family’s child bullying men and women, but now it had somehow involved a Divine Power Practitioner, leaving one at a loss for words.
However, it was certain that Young Master Shen Xiu would now be on the wanted list of the Protector’s Mansion, there was no doubt about that.
No matter how one looked at it, the Spiritual Crane Daoist after all had an official status, and as a Seventh-rank, he was not minor.
Young Master Shen Xiu daring to brazenly kill him was a show of disdain for the dignity and system of the Second Yan Han Empire, and he must pay a price, or else what would happen if everyone followed suit in the future?
"Enough, you’ve survived a great disaster and hurried back to bring the news; you must be exhausted, go and rest."
Feng Xixi had a headache for half a day, and upon seeing Zhong Shenxiu was still there, she waved her hand.
"Your subordinate takes his leave."
Zhong Shenxiu saluted, left the tent, and returned to his own mansion.
From a distance, he saw a dog head waiting at the door, who let out a joyful bark upon seeing him, "The master is back."
When Zhong Shenxiu arrived at the entrance, a group of people came out to greet him.
Huang Xie, Er Ha, Su Tang, and Su Wei were all present, their faces showing joy.
Zhong Shenxiu had only just emerged from closed-door training when he had been forced into the bandit-suppression operation, which caused them quite a bit of worry.
Seeing him return safe and sound now, they couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Don’t worry, I’m fine."
Zhong Shenxiu patted little Su Wei’s head, slightly surprised, "Hmm? You have strong Qi-Blood, you haven’t been slacking during this period, your Martial Arts have already begun to take shape."
"Yes, Brother, Huang Xie, and Er Ha have all been working hard too," Su Wei earnestly nodded in response.
"Haha, then I should give a reward, I’ll pass on a spell to each of you."
Zhong Shenxiu laughed heartily.
Even ordinary people could learn spells, but there were many limitations and the effects were poor.
When one reached the Innate level, using True Qi to drive the spells would be much better, but of course, the most suitable method was to use mana to drive them.
He had two incomplete legacies on hand; besides some signature Daoist Skills, some common goods like the immobilization technique and Golden Light Spell circulated among the Loose Cultivation World and wouldn’t attract attention if given away.