Out in the farmyard, the Sky Demon Cultists were silent. Only the bonfire was crackling as it burned.
A mysterious fear had caught the cultist’s minds then.
They were not sure what happened, and neither Brave Star nor the other Decans clearly would tell them. It was the unknown that terrified them further, and since the Sky Demon Cultists did not dare to talk to each other, all they had were hunches which escalated the panic.
Right now, all of them were staring at the small house.
After one long hour and when the sun almost rose, all three Decans—Brave Star, Guilty Star, and Bound Star opened the door and came out.
Every Sky Demon Cultist rose to their feet immediately, watching them.
Guilty Star smiled and said, “A fellow elite of our Holy Faith had discovered treasure near the region of Helan Mountain, and Sixth Elder had gone there to offer support. Brave Star, Bound Star, and I would be heading out to help as well, so the rest of you need not worry and hide here. Do not act on your own without orders from the Holy Faith.”
Hence, the trio left, leaving their many followers behind.
In fact, it was the instructions they had received after contacting their fellowship.
The order from above was to give up on Lingzhou City for now.
Still, the treasure was real.
Both Bound Star and Guilty Star were definitely heading to Mount Helan, although Brave Star was to hurry back to headquarters.
As for Jiang He?
It was all smoke and mirrors—such was the conclusion they came to after some serious analysis.
The human named Jiang He did exist, and he was not weak since he could reach rank-five at twenty… but his accomplishments were all definitely fake. The Martial Arts Department (MAD) must be waving it in their faces on purpose to set a trap, ambushing and killing the elites of the Sky Sage Faith.
In fact, the MAD had succeeded.
Their Sixth Elder had definitely fallen there!
***
At the same time.
Duan Tianhe had reported to the higher ups of the MAD that Jiang He had slain Kun of the Left, aka the Sixth Elder of the Sky Demon Cult. Likewise, Chen Jingzhou also informed the military about the news.
At ten in the morning on the next day, that piece of news travelled along secret paths and reached the headquarters of the Sky Demon Cult, which was in a hidden location, at a realm of birdsong and fragrant flowers.
However, beyond that realm birdsong and fragrant flowers was a mountain forest that rarely anyone visited. The toxic miasma of poisonous insects filled it, and it was also full of swamps and raging rivers, with more untold dangers lurking within.
And right now, an old woman whose hair was all-white was reading through the secret report.
She was the senior elder of the Sky Demon Cult whose rank was next to the Saint, their two Cardinals and Sentinels. Her power would absolutely put her amongst the top rank-nine individuals.
Incidentally, the secret report she was holding read, “Jiang He of Lingzhou City in Xibei progresses rapidly, and is now rank-six advanced. Suspected to have a hand in Kun of the Left’s death.”
However, the writer seemed worried that a simple description was not convincing enough, and so added, “Both the MAD of Lingzhou City and Chen Jingzhou, Leader of Xibei’s Third Field Operations Squad have submitted a report of this incident.”
“Humph!”
There was a cold glint in the old woman’s turbid eyes after she read the report. The temperature in her room abruptly fell, and every object inside, from plants to glasses shattered in the freezing atmosphere.
Nonsense!
Absolute nonsense!
Jiang He’s information was last updated several days ago. How many days had it been, and he was already rank-six advanced?
Most importantly, a rank-six advanced killing Kun of the Left?!
Kun of the Left had called her just twelve hours ago, informing her that he had mastered blade will and reached the boundary of wills. When even the senior elder as herself would have a hard time killing a champion like him, a rank-six somehow succeeded?
Guilty Star’s judgment was perhaps right…
Withdrawing her aura, the old woman quickly left her private courtyard and soon arrived before an extravagant royal residence belonging to one of the Cardinals.
Of course, that was what the Sky Demon Cult was known to others. Usually, they refer to themselves as the Sky Sage Faith.
***
Meanwhile, Jiang He had just woken up.
Jiang He, who had been lying down on the seat of his sports car opened his dazed eyes and glanced at his phone…
It was not even half-past eleven.
And he already woke up naturally?
Closing his eyes and trying to sleep a little longer, Jiang He suddenly noticed that his spirit was utterly invigorated and he did not feel sleepy at all.
“The quality of sleep here is too poor…” He sighed inwardly.
Recently, he had been staying up late, and only slept for hours before he was invigorated. In fact, he would not feel drowsy even if he stayed up for more than a day, leaving the quality of his sleep indescribably poor.
Could the reason for that be his strengthening and change in physicality?
“No, should I be sleeping more soundly the healthier I am?”
“Could I still be worried subconsciously that the Sky Demon Cult would still attack me?”
“That’s it—that’s definitely it!”
“Even if I had learnt Indestructible Diamond to the level of initiate and possess the Dark Golden Combat Suit, even if most rank-nines wouldn’t be able to kill me, there are too many methods of killing, such as poisoning. There might even be Awakened who could attack the soul…”
Jiang He couldn’t help clenching his fist at that thought.
He was still too weak!
He was still lacking in defense.
“But how should I guard against poison and spiritual attacks?”
Jiang He mused to himself for a long time before forcing a laugh, “There really isn’t much anyone could do about those measures. All I can is make sure that I’m impervious to poison and my spirit and will are immeasurably powerful!”
Taking a dozen blended qi pellets to suppress his fear, Jiang He entered the yard, and could not help blanking out when he looked up!
There was a small, bald tree in the middle of the yard with no leaves.
And there was a dog tied to the top of the tree.
Most importantly, the rope was tied onto the topmost branch, whereas the other end was tied over the dog’s neck. That was why it appeared as if the dog was being hanged on the tree.
The dog’s eyes were closed even as it remained suspended on the tree, breathing faintly.
Looking at the dog, Jiang He noticed that the dog’s fur was a shining greasy blackness, whereas the fur over its belly and legs were brown and the fur beneath its neck was white.
It was identical to Dumbo when it was alive.
Jiang He came to his senses then, but was still rather speechless.
What the heck?
I added in a third of one pack of Mysterious Soil, damn it. That was almost 1700 Farm Points…
The Dumbo he had planted was no different than from when it was alive, and it was certainly worth noting here that his Wang Mazi-brand cleaver had become a cleaver forged from ‘meteor steel’ after he planted it. Likewise, Trumbo had been a rank-one Feral Cat, and it became rank-three after Jiang He planted it casually, even gaining intelligence.
“Maybe it’s not in appearance but in stats!”
With a flick of his finger, Jiang He released a streak of True Qi, cutting off the rope that was tying down Dumbo.
[Ding!]
[+1000 Farm Points]
Thud.
Dumbo jumped as soon as it dropped the ground, yipping and howling as it celebrated enthusiastically. It then ran a lap around the yard, before leaping high into the air, assuming a diving pose and tunneling inside the ground instantly.
It then spread its paws and pretended to swim like a fish, paddling ahead until it carved a long trail into the yard.
Delighted, Trumbo jumped up on Dumbo’s back.
That actor of a cat even found a stick that it drove into the ground, and used Dumbo for a raft…
“…”
Blue with shock, Jiang He barked at them, and only then did cat and dog stand up on their rear legs, hang their heads fearfully, and stand beside a wall—just like children who were caught in their mischief.
Jiang He looked at Dumbo then, and lines of data appeared before his eyes.
Out in the farmyard, the Sky Demon Cultists were silent. Only the bonfire was crackling as it burned.
A mysterious fear had caught the cultist’s minds then.
They were not sure what happened, and neither Brave Star nor the other Decans clearly would tell them. It was the unknown that terrified them further, and since the Sky Demon Cultists did not dare to talk to each other, all they had were hunches which escalated the panic.
Right now, all of them were staring at the small house.
After one long hour and when the sun almost rose, all three Decans—Brave Star, Guilty Star, and Bound Star opened the door and came out.
Every Sky Demon Cultist rose to their feet immediately, watching them.
Guilty Star smiled and said, “A fellow elite of our Holy Faith had discovered treasure near the region of Helan Mountain, and Sixth Elder had gone there to offer support. Brave Star, Bound Star, and I would be heading out to help as well, so the rest of you need not worry and hide here. Do not act on your own without orders from the Holy Faith.”
Hence, the trio left, leaving their many followers behind.
In fact, it was the instructions they had received after contacting their fellowship.
The order from above was to give up on Lingzhou City for now.
Still, the treasure was real.
Both Bound Star and Guilty Star were definitely heading to Mount Helan, although Brave Star was to hurry back to headquarters.
As for Jiang He?
It was all smoke and mirrors—such was the conclusion they came to after some serious analysis.
The human named Jiang He did exist, and he was not weak since he could reach rank-five at twenty… but his accomplishments were all definitely fake. The Martial Arts Department (MAD) must be waving it in their faces on purpose to set a trap, ambushing and killing the elites of the Sky Sage Faith.
In fact, the MAD had succeeded.
Their Sixth Elder had definitely fallen there!
***
At the same time.
Duan Tianhe had reported to the higher ups of the MAD that Jiang He had slain Kun of the Left, aka the Sixth Elder of the Sky Demon Cult. Likewise, Chen Jingzhou also informed the military about the news.
At ten in the morning on the next day, that piece of news travelled along secret paths and reached the headquarters of the Sky Demon Cult, which was in a hidden location, at a realm of birdsong and fragrant flowers.
However, beyond that realm birdsong and fragrant flowers was a mountain forest that rarely anyone visited. The toxic miasma of poisonous insects filled it, and it was also full of swamps and raging rivers, with more untold dangers lurking within.
And right now, an old woman whose hair was all-white was reading through the secret report.
She was the senior elder of the Sky Demon Cult whose rank was next to the Saint, their two Cardinals and Sentinels. Her power would absolutely put her amongst the top rank-nine individuals.
Incidentally, the secret report she was holding read, “Jiang He of Lingzhou City in Xibei progresses rapidly, and is now rank-six advanced. Suspected to have a hand in Kun of the Left’s death.”
However, the writer seemed worried that a simple description was not convincing enough, and so added, “Both the MAD of Lingzhou City and Chen Jingzhou, Leader of Xibei’s Third Field Operations Squad have submitted a report of this incident.”
“Humph!”
There was a cold glint in the old woman’s turbid eyes after she read the report. The temperature in her room abruptly fell, and every object inside, from plants to glasses shattered in the freezing atmosphere.
Nonsense!
Absolute nonsense!
Jiang He’s information was last updated several days ago. How many days had it been, and he was already rank-six advanced?
Most importantly, a rank-six advanced killing Kun of the Left?!
Kun of the Left had called her just twelve hours ago, informing her that he had mastered blade will and reached the boundary of wills. When even the senior elder as herself would have a hard time killing a champion like him, a rank-six somehow succeeded?
Guilty Star’s judgment was perhaps right…
Withdrawing her aura, the old woman quickly left her private courtyard and soon arrived before an extravagant royal residence belonging to one of the Cardinals.
Of course, that was what the Sky Demon Cult was known to others. Usually, they refer to themselves as the Sky Sage Faith.
***
Meanwhile, Jiang He had just woken up.
Jiang He, who had been lying down on the seat of his sports car opened his dazed eyes and glanced at his phone…
It was not even half-past eleven.
And he already woke up naturally?
Closing his eyes and trying to sleep a little longer, Jiang He suddenly noticed that his spirit was utterly invigorated and he did not feel sleepy at all.
“The quality of sleep here is too poor…” He sighed inwardly.
Recently, he had been staying up late, and only slept for hours before he was invigorated. In fact, he would not feel drowsy even if he stayed up for more than a day, leaving the quality of his sleep indescribably poor.
Could the reason for that be his strengthening and change in physicality?
“No, should I be sleeping more soundly the healthier I am?”
“Could I still be worried subconsciously that the Sky Demon Cult would still attack me?”
“That’s it—that’s definitely it!”
“Even if I had learnt Indestructible Diamond to the level of initiate and possess the Dark Golden Combat Suit, even if most rank-nines wouldn’t be able to kill me, there are too many methods of killing, such as poisoning. There might even be Awakened who could attack the soul…”
Jiang He couldn’t help clenching his fist at that thought.
He was still too weak!
He was still lacking in defense.
“But how should I guard against poison and spiritual attacks?”
Jiang He mused to himself for a long time before forcing a laugh, “There really isn’t much anyone could do about those measures. All I can is make sure that I’m impervious to poison and my spirit and will are immeasurably powerful!”
Taking a dozen blended qi pellets to suppress his fear, Jiang He entered the yard, and could not help blanking out when he looked up!
There was a small, bald tree in the middle of the yard with no leaves.
And there was a dog tied to the top of the tree.
Most importantly, the rope was tied onto the topmost branch, whereas the other end was tied over the dog’s neck. That was why it appeared as if the dog was being hanged on the tree.
The dog’s eyes were closed even as it remained suspended on the tree, breathing faintly.
Looking at the dog, Jiang He noticed that the dog’s fur was a shining greasy blackness, whereas the fur over its belly and legs were brown and the fur beneath its neck was white.
It was identical to Dumbo when it was alive.
Jiang He came to his senses then, but was still rather speechless.
What the heck?
I added in a third of one pack of Mysterious Soil, damn it. That was almost 1700 Farm Points…
The Dumbo he had planted was no different than from when it was alive, and it was certainly worth noting here that his Wang Mazi-brand cleaver had become a cleaver forged from ‘meteor steel’ after he planted it. Likewise, Trumbo had been a rank-one Feral Cat, and it became rank-three after Jiang He planted it casually, even gaining intelligence.
“Maybe it’s not in appearance but in stats!”
With a flick of his finger, Jiang He released a streak of True Qi, cutting off the rope that was tying down Dumbo.
[Ding!]
[+1000 Farm Points]
Thud.
Dumbo jumped as soon as it dropped the ground, yipping and howling as it celebrated enthusiastically. It then ran a lap around the yard, before leaping high into the air, assuming a diving pose and tunneling inside the ground instantly.
It then spread its paws and pretended to swim like a fish, paddling ahead until it carved a long trail into the yard.
Delighted, Trumbo jumped up on Dumbo’s back.
That actor of a cat even found a stick that it drove into the ground, and used Dumbo for a raft…
“…”
Blue with shock, Jiang He barked at them, and only then did cat and dog stand up on their rear legs, hang their heads fearfully, and stand beside a wall—just like children who were caught in their mischief.
Jiang He looked at Dumbo then, and lines of data appeared before his eyes.
