"In retrospect, our Misty Sect once possessed a lower-grade spiritual artifact, the 'Xuan Ye Flying Sword,' but it's such a shame that Xiao Fangu took it with him when he left. It's infuriating!"
Huo Yunjie said helplessly.
It was acquired by the Old Sect Leader after spending a great deal of spirit stones, and it was the only spiritual artifact of the Misty Sect.
And just like that, it was gone.
Shi Lei was also very displeased and said,
"After that boy betrayed us, he joined the Qingyun Sect, a one-star sect, which holds a higher status than the City Lord's Mansion of Whitefloat City. With just us, I'm afraid it won't be possible to get it back."
"There will be a chance to get it back in the future," Ye Feng pointed at Mo Ying's Breeze-riding Sword, "Let's go, enter the city together."
The four disciples jumped onto the flying sword.
Mo Ying and Li Jiaojiao stood in front, Ye Feng stood in the middle, while Huo Yunjie and Shi Lei stood at the back.
The flying sword let out a tremor.
It bore the pressure it should not have at this age, carrying five people toward Whitefloat City, which was more than a dozen miles away.
Just after they left Misty Peak, a fluffy white figure darted into the dilapidated grand hall.
It sniffed around the hall for a while as if returning to the embrace of a mother, then sprawled out beneath a table and deeply fell into a slumber.
The Breeze-riding Sword carried the five people as it flew.
This was not Ye Feng's first time flying.
When he was first brought back by the Old Sect Leader, he had arrived at the Misty Sect on the "Xuan Ye Flying Sword."
Once Ye Feng stood on the flying sword, he found his feet sticking to it firmly, stable and without any worry of falling off.
The flying sword was incredibly fast.
In less than half the time it takes to drink a small cup of tea, the group had already landed at the east city gate and walked inside.
Ye Feng exchanged a lower-grade spirit stone for ten strings of copper coins, a total of ten thousand coins.
In Shenzhou Continent, you can exchange spirit stones for gold, silver, or copper coins at any time, but the reverse is not always true and depends on the willingness of those who possess spirit stones.
Now Ye Feng was about to faint from hunger, he couldn't care less, which is why he had reluctantly used a spirit stone.
Normally, even ten taels of gold might not be enough to get a spirit stone.
They found a nearby restaurant to solve the problem of hunger, then visited a few rice shops and vegetable markets to buy enough food to last the Misty Sect for half a month.
"It's about time to go back; we need to come over tomorrow morning to recruit disciples," Ye Feng said.
"Sect Master Uncle, we rarely come down the mountain, let's stroll around the night market before going back!"
Li Jiaojiao, looking at the lanterns hanging on both sides of the street, displayed the natural love of a girl for shopping.
It was already evening by this time.
The main city of Whitefloat City, with a radius of thirty miles, had a total population of over eight hundred thousand, and the nightlife was prosperous, indeed suitable for a night market stroll.
Upon hearing this, Ye Feng furrowed his brows tightly.
He always felt that staying any longer in Whitefloat City at such a time would definitely lead to trouble.
Perhaps to prove Ye Feng's hunch, ahead on the street, a group of about a dozen people dressed in black disciple uniforms were walking towards them.
The person in the lead had a twisted mouth and a somewhat dark complexion.
Si Taijian saw Ye Feng, Huo Yunjie, and their entourage, his nose crooked with anger.
"Weren't you heavily injured by the 'Fiery Cloud Palm'? How did you recover so quickly?" Shi Lei blurted out unconsciously.
Si Taijian trembled all over with rage.
The news of his defeat had spread all over the city, leaving him with no face to show. Now Shi Lei was bringing up the very topic that enraged him the most.
"Eh, your clothes... those are the disciple uniforms of the middle-rank Heixuan Gate!"
Huo Yunjie, with his sharp eyes, was the first to recognize them.
After countless years of evolution, the hierarchy of sect rankings had long become institutionalized.
From low to high, they were divided into three main ranks: lower rank, middle rank, and high rank.
Above the sects were the star-level sects, composed of five levels.
Standing at the peak of Shenzhou's power structures were those immortal holy lands that had surpassed the five-star sects.
In Whitefloat City, there were hundreds of sects, but not a single star-level sect, the highest being only three high-rank sects.
Below those were middle-rank sects like the Heixuan Gate, with more than a dozen, where each sect leader was at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, collectively possessing great strength.
"If you recognize these clothes, you should know what this means, right?"
Si Taijian patted his chest, as arrogantly as ever.
The Scarlet Serpent Sect, having lost their Sect Territory Deed, had no choice but to move away.
But just then, Sect Master Zhao Dajiang received an invitation and led the entire Scarlet Serpent Sect to join the Middle Rank Heixuan Gate, assisting in its push to become a High Ranked Sect.
As a Middle Rank Sect, Heixuan Gate had abundant financial resources.
Its Sect Leader took out a "Lower Grade Healing Qi Pill" and allowed Si Taijian to recover most of his injuries within half a day.
Tonight, Si Taijian planned to wander the streets to clear his mind.
But he did not expect to encounter Ye Feng here.
A surge of rage suddenly swelled in his heart.
With a wave of his large hand, more than a dozen Qi Refining Realm disciples immediately encircled the group from Misty Sect.
Ye Feng was speechless.
According to the rules of Whitefloat City, flying with swords was forbidden within the city; otherwise, he really wanted to just take off on his flying sword and escape.
"Do you want to break the rules?"
Huo Yun Jie stepped forward, pointing at Si Taijian, "This is the main city area, do you dare to start a fight here?"
"As long as we don't aim for vital parts and don't steal anything, the City Lord's Mansion might not care if disciples have a fight," Si Taijian said with a nefarious smile, clearly an old hand at navigating these situations unafraid.
He waved his large hand again, and more than a dozen disciples began to cast spells, ready to strike.
"Protect the Sect Master Uncle!"
Shi Lei immediately performed a fully mastered "Iron Shield Technique" and stood in front as the first line of defense.
Li Jiaojiao and Huo Yun Jie stood on either side.
In the back was Mo Ying, who carried a flying sword on her back.
She did not take action but watched the unified front of the four people ahead of her, unable to comprehend their bond.
Does such a strong relationship really exist in this world?
Mo Ying did not understand.
But upon remembering the person who had sent her to the Misty Sect, Mo Ying hesitated for a moment, then still prepared to intervene.
"Lie down nicely now and let us give you a beating; that way, your injuries might be lighter," Si Taijian said smugly.
Can't win one-on-one, but a group fight should do, right?
He remembered something and added in a low voice, "Don't hit the Sect Leader of Misty Sect, or things will get complicated; hitting the others is fine."
With a "swoosh" sound,
Li Jiaojiao, Huo Yun Jie, and Shi Lei immediately stood back to back, leaving Ye Feng out to the side.
"What about the protection we promised?"
A twitch appeared at the corner of Ye Feng's mouth.
"Sect Master Uncle, don't worry, they wouldn't dare touch you; otherwise, they'll be severely punished by the City Lord's Mansion," Shi Lei said seriously.
Seeing this scene, Mo Ying rolled her eyes.
However, she felt that a sect was more interesting and grounded, and, as the person who sent her had said, very suitable for her.
At Si Taijian's command, more than a dozen people rushed forward, some casting "Fire Spear Technique" and others "Long Fire Serpent Technique", with an overwhelming momentum.
"It seems we three won't be able to hold them off!"
Shi Lei had a tingling sensation on his scalp.
Huo Yun Jie and Li Jiaojiao also had solemn expressions, considering whether to fight desperately.
Just when Huo Yun Jie and his group thought they were about to be beaten down, a cool and slightly impatient voice came from behind, startling everyone.
A flying sword, radiating dazzling spiritual light, traced a beautiful arc across the sky.
Wherever it passed, Si Taijian and his dozen or so men were sent flying by the sword qi, their robes bursting open, falling in heaps.
Si Taijian found his clothes torn to shreds by the sword qi, hanging tattered on his frame.
With the wind blowing, he felt a chill all over his body.
He widened his eyes and looked at Mo Ying, who stood behind Ye Feng. He noticed her forming a sword-fighting seal with her hand and saw a flying sword slowly circling around her.
"Sword... sword cultivator?"
Si Taijian was shocked and, no longer caring about teaching Huo Yun Jie a lesson, quickly covered his vital parts and ran away as fast as he could.
The others hurriedly scrambled away.
Just then, a rapid clatter of horse hooves approached from afar, drawing the attention of everyone present.