Cultivation towards immortality, starting from being a fisherman

Chapter 46: Chapter 46 Punishment, how could it be such an inconvenient object!

Su Ping’s heart stirred, and he quietly retreated back into the mists of Nine Leaf Mountain.

Only after his figure was completely obscured by the mist and the forest did Su Ping continue to observe the sudden situation in the distance through the Spiritual Rats.

Without intelligence support, Su Ping would definitely not wade into troubled waters.

Lying low and building strength to overwhelm the weak—now that was the true path to power!

On the distant official road, three cultivators in black robes were in pursuit of the eagle-faced cultivator who had participated in the Yun Family’s auction earlier.

The eagle-faced cultivator displayed a strong foundation, with bursts of golden and watery light emerging from his body, obviously possessing numerous protective talismans and magic artifacts.

...

The pursuers, clearly well-prepared, connected their mana in an array when attacking and defending as one, and also jointly activated a bronze short sword. The Sword Qi it unleashed in the air would always destabilize the eagle-faced cultivator’s stance and dim his protective halo considerably.

The surrounding area of the official road had already become ragged in just a few short seconds due to their battle. @@novelbin@@

Even several of the Spiritual Rats serving as Su Ping’s eyes were killed without an intact corpse by the sweeps of Sword Qi.

“It’s good that I am cautious and focused on raising the Spiritual Rats from the start,”

“Otherwise, without the rats as an early warning, I might have unwittingly approached their Divine Sense detection range.”

“By then, it would not be easy for me, caught in a passive state, to make an escape.”

Su Ping felt relieved; this sudden incident was clearly not simple.

The Immortal Cultivation Family behind the eagle-faced cultivator was definitely not weaker than the Yun Family.

And those who dared to ambush him while pinpointing the time and place… upon further thought, one would realize the matter was deeply complicated.

Just as the eagle-faced cultivator’s protective barrier was breached by the Sword Qi, and he seemed destined for doom, his form suddenly vanished!

When he reappeared, he was more than ten kilometers away from Nine Leaf Mountain.

Su Ping’s brows furrowed, his heart tightened, and he silently called out for Spiritual Rats White and Grey to start digging, preparing for the worst-case scenario.

As expected!

The eagle-faced cultivator was rushing towards the Nine Leaf Mountain Workshop and burst several talismans in the air, setting off several bursts of fireworks.

Normally, that would have meant the pursuit had failed.

The pursuers would be wise to withdraw.

However, the situation unfolded contrary to normal expectations.

The pursuers continued their chase.

Su Ping, feeling something was amiss, hid underground. The Pot Cave Heaven was already open, ready for him to evacuate at any moment.

“Who are these scoundrels who dare to cause trouble at Nine Leaf Mountain!”

As a late period Qi Cultivation cultivator, Yun Yuan flew out from the mountain peak with the help of the Workshop’s array and issued a scolding cry.

At the same time, several cultivators and loose cultivators in the vicinity noticed the disturbance and, with their own intentions in mind, hastened over.

But just as Yun Yuan’s voice rang out,

From the distant darkness on the horizon, within suddenly churning black clouds, an even louder voice came:

“The Punishment Alliance is conducting business, all unrelated parties… out of the way!”

“The Punishment Alliance!”

Yun Yuan’s aged face showed an unmistakable shock, not even bothering to question the truth, he immediately withdrew into the Yun Family Workshop.

And quickly activated the Big Array Barrier, blocking all internal and external information transmissions, showing great tact.

The Punishment Alliance, originally just one of the subordinate organizations of the Immortal Sect’s Merit and Demerit Hall, saw a sudden boost a hundred years ago with the entry of several True Disciples.

It has now become akin to a secret violent agency of the Mortal Dynasty, feared by all mid and lower-level cultivators.

Seeing this, the despair on the eagle-faced cultivator’s face grew as he incredulously stared at the black clouds behind his pursuers:

“With such actions… are you not afraid of being held accountable by the Immortal Sect elders!”

“Held accountable by the Immortal Sect elders? We act solely for the Immortal Sect’s cause, why would we care about these trifles!”

A black light shot out from the clouds above, enveloping the eagle-faced cultivator, who was already exhausted, and then drew him into the clouds.

Following that, Divine Sense swept out from the churning black clouds across the surroundings of Nine Leaf Mountain.

Several cultivators and loose cultivators, who had also sensed something was amiss and chose to hide rather than rush to the scene, were immediately exposed.

A dark figure descended from the black clouds and, amid roaring voices, there was a succession of screams.

Before long, not a single living creature remained around Nine Leaf Mountain.

Not only that, but a nearby village was also affected, with not a single survivor left in the village!

The shadow returned to the dark clouds, and Divine Sense descended once more to scan the area.

This time, however, nothing unusual was found.

Though there were a few rats that seemed somewhat intelligent.

But they were ultimately not Spiritual Rats, not worthy of the attention or intervention of such a noble existence originating from Divine Sense.

Then, a small, black Immortal Boat gradually emerged from the clouds.

It carefully circled around Nine Leaf Mountain again and again.

After picking up the three pursuers, it slowly left Nine Leaf Mountain.

“Punishment, how could it be such an inconvenient thing!”

“Look, even if you were to leave hidden messages all around with secret techniques, now no one can see or hear them, so naturally, there will be no punishment!”

On the deck of the Immortal Boat, a cultivator enshrouded in black fog said to the captured Eagle-faced cultivator with a calm voice:

“Because of you, my little one has gorged on a meal of Blood Food.”

“And you have added yet another case of demon beast trouble for the Immortal Sect to bother Taoist Friend with an investigation.”

“It’s really terrible!”

“So, if you don’t want to continue suffering and involve your friends and family, confess honestly, what exactly did you see that night!”

…

A night passed.

Below at the foot of Nine Leaf Mountain, underground.

Su Ping quietly emerged from the Pot Cave Heaven and immediately made contact with the group of rats to investigate.

The result made Su Ping shiver.

Had a level twelve storm ravaged this area?

“Punishment Alliance…”

Su Ping, upon hearing this voice, had immediately fled into the Pot Cave Heaven, and now could only piece together the truth of the incident through the fractured memories of the lucky surviving rats.

The Immortal Boat, claiming to be from the Punishment Alliance, had begun to eliminate all living beings in the vicinity after capturing the Eagle-faced cultivator.

The tragic state of the distant village was also undeniably related to them.

“Report it?”

“I’m just an Inspector, after all. My words carry little weight—not to mention they dare to kill and silence with such audacity.”

“I’m afraid the punishment for reporting it would be rather limited!”

“If the Immortal Sect is showing weakness, even the handle of the blade is starting to lose control—this is too much.”

“It seems there might still be belongings of those unlucky cultivators in the nearby forests…”

“Forget it, it’s too dangerous; I can’t afford to lose the bigger picture over something minor, better not to go.”

“What if those things are tainted with some aura, or are deliberately used as bait—then what?”

Su Ping immediately vetoed the trace of greed in his heart. Waiting until a merchant convoy appeared on the official road, he slapped on an Invisibility Talisman and left the territory along with the convoy. Only then did he quicken his pace back to Frost Moon Villa.

Nine Leaf Mountain, after having sealed itself from the outside world for a whole day and night, slowly opened its Barrier and then began to clean up the chaos at the foot of the mountain.

Yun Yuan’s expression was grave, his heart having grown ever more supportive of his family clan’s plan to relocate.

He even planned to bring back those branches of the family left outside as soon as he returned.

As for reporting last night’s incident to the Immortal Sect…

Forget it, if the Yun Family could protect itself by pretending to know nothing, that was already fortunate. To offend the Punishment Alliance and risk annihilation for the slightest slip-up?

“Sigh, what’s going on with the Immortal Sect?”

“Don’t the elders know that often, when things are left messy, they can truly become chaotic?”

As a Deacon of the Outer Sect, Yun Yuan did have feelings for the Immortal Sect.

Only, there was nothing he could do about it!