Gu Baiying glanced at Yang Zanxing, who looked puzzled. She heard him say, “There is a Clear Heart Mantra on the Panhua staff, which can drive away evil spirits. Yang Zanxing approached him, and the spell restrained the demon bugs, causing them to actively flee the host.”
Yang Zanxing understood and looked at the Panhua staff around her waist. No wonder the staff was shaking vigorously just now. Was it reminding her?
“But how could my senior brother have such a thing on him?” Rong Yu raised his head. “Even if it’s a demon hidden in the gambling house, why did it only parasitize my senior brother?”
“Maybe your senior brother has bad luck?” Tian Fangfang ventured.
“Then his luck is really bad.” Mu Cengxiao shook his head. “In the cultivation world, no one has seen the trace of a gambling bug for decades. Moreover, there are many mortals in this gambling house, but the gambling bug chose a cultivator.” He looked at Tan Tianxin. “What a coincidence.”
“What do you mean?” Tan Tianxin sneered. “Are you suspecting me?”
“I didn’t say that,” Mu Cengxiao replied.
“I didn’t do such a thing!” Tan Tianxin gritted his teeth. “You’re accusing me without evidence.”
“Young man,” Gu Baiying turned to look at Rong Yu, “Now that the demon bug that harmed your senior brother has been found, what do you plan to do?”
The meaning of “what do you plan to do” was whether to continue investigating. Continuing the investigation would likely lead to the Chihua Sect, but it would probably end without resolution. Indeed, when Rong Yu heard this, after struggling with his thoughts for a moment, he lowered his head and said, “In that case, I’ll take my senior brother back to the inn first and then decide what to do.”
“Just like that?” Mu Cengxiao frowned. “Your senior brother is injured like this, he definitely can’t enter the secret realm for trial.”
Rong Yu sighed bitterly. “That’s just how it is.”
Yang Zanxing sighed inwardly. Rong Yu probably didn’t want to pick a fight with the Chihua Sect, which was why he chose to let things go.
Seeing Rong Yu��s response, Tan Tianxin’s expression softened slightly. Even though there was a shoe print on his face, he still looked smug. “It’s good to be sensible.”
Gu Baiying glanced at him, and Tan Tianxin instinctively covered his face, hesitating for a moment before saying, “Consider me unlucky. I don’t want the spirit stone anymore. I’ll let you off the hook!”
Men Dong and Meng Ying walked in from outside, arriving a bit later. Men Dong immediately spotted the gambling bug trapped in the light cage and exclaimed in surprise, “Gambling bug!” He hurried forward, took out a palm-sized bamboo cage from his Qiankun bag, and skillfully caught the gambling bug like catching a cricket. He then held up the bamboo cage and said, “This is a good thing, it can be used in medicine. I didn’t expect to find a gambling bug in Li’er Country.”
Meng Ying approached Gu Baiying and asked, “Senior Uncle, are you okay?”
Gu Baiying replied, “I’m fine.”
In the Qiang Qiang Gambling House, the sudden appearance of such a graceful and beautiful woman immediately captivated everyone’s attention. Even Tan Tianxin’s gaze softened. The young man in blue who had been standing beside Yang Zanxing, fanning himself, stepped forward at this moment and approached Meng Ying, speaking gallantly, “You must be Sister Meng from the Taiyan Sect, right? I’ve heard of you for a long time. I’m Nie Xinghong, a disciple of the Yin Feng Sect.”
Yang Zanxing couldn’t help but gasp inwardly as she looked at Nie Xinghong with a different perspective. So this was the nouveau riche sect.
Unlike the Chihua Sect, which could be considered an old-school sect with a long history, the Yin Feng Sect was relatively new in the cultivation world. It was their sect leader who had struck it lucky. About several decades ago, the sect leader of the Yin Feng Sect stumbled upon a spirit stone mine in the mountains behind their sect, and from then on, they began their path to wealth.
With a mine at home, they never lacked spirit stones. The sect leader of the Yin Feng Sect also had foresight, knowing that for a sect to develop and thrive in the long run, talent was the most crucial factor. Therefore, in recent years, they actively implemented strategies to attract talents, successfully recruiting a group of outstanding disciples. It was no wonder that many geniuses were willing to join the Yin Feng Sect. It was said that the sect distributed hundreds of spirit stones to its disciples every month, not to mention other facilities such as accommodation expenses. In short, relying on their mine, the Yin Feng Sect had firmly established itself in the cultivation world by splurging on spirit stones.
With money and talents, the Yin Feng Sect naturally wanted to establish its own reputation, often using the names of old sects as stepping stones. Among them, the gradually declining Taiyan Sect was an excellent target. For decades, whenever there was a cultivation competition, the Yin Feng Sect always treated the Taiyan Sect as a competitor or a stepping stone, repeatedly provoking them. The disciples of the Taiyan Sect were very disdainful of the Yin Feng Sect’s style of behavior, often spitting out the word “nouveau riche” when they encountered them.
No wonder that guy had such a smug look earlier, Yang Zanxing thought, turns out he’s our rival.
The stunning beauty Meng Ying truly lived up to her reputation as the sect flower of the Taiyan Sect. She was accustomed to countless people trying to flatter her, so she didn’t even spare a glance at Nie Xinghong, completely ignoring his attempts to strike up a conversation. Meng Ying walked past him and addressed Gu Baiying, “Senior Uncle, we should go back now.”
Gu Baiying retracted his silver spear and called out to Yang Zanxing and the others, “Let’s go.”
Tian Fangfang shrugged, patted Rong Yu’s shoulder, and said, “Brother, we’re leaving first. See you on the day of the trial in the secret realm.”
Rong Yu thanked them again, and then Yang Zanxing and the others left.
As soon as they stepped out of the Qiang Qiang Gambling House, the smile on Gu Baiying’s face vanished. He glanced at the three of them and asked in a displeased tone, “Who struck first?”
Yang Zanxing and Mu Cengxiao took a step back, while Tian Fangfang remained in the front, facing Gu Baiying’s icy gaze. The burly man spoke softly, “It was me. But, Senior Uncle, they were bullying us too much! How could they beat someone to near death over a few spirit stones? And they even insulted our junior sister as an ugly monster. Most importantly, as Junior Brother Mu said, it’s clear that it was people from the Chihua Sect deliberately using gambling bugs to cause trouble for the members of the Liuli Sect, just to prevent someone from entering the secret realm. It’s despicable, isn’t it, Junior Brother Mu?”
Mu Cengxiao said, “I was just speculating.”
“Junior Brother, what are you…”
Before Tian Fangfang could finish, Gu Baiying impatiently interrupted him, “Since you struck first, fight properly! Don’t you know, if I hadn’t arrived, the reputation of the Taiyan Sect would have been trampled on!”
Tian Fangfang: “Ah?”
Yang Zanxing couldn’t help but smile.
“What’s with the ‘ah’? And you,” Gu Baiying turned his attention to Yang Zanxing, “Once you’re outside of Gufeng Mountain, it’s not even the Taiyan Sect anymore. Not everyone will yield to you. You couldn’t even evade a surprise attack. Yang Zanxing, you’re the top disciple in the inner disciple assessment. Is this how you embarrass yourself outside?”
Yang Zanxing: “…”
Mu Cengxiao interjected, “Senior Uncle, Master instructed us before leaving, not to easily get into disputes with disciples from other sects.”
“There’s no need for unnecessary disputes, of course, but once you’ve already started a fight, you have to win,” Gu Baiying snorted, “Otherwise, why bother fighting? To intimidate?”