"I will adjust my state as soon as possible," Xiang Jian said excitedly. If he could re-forge his golden core, would that mean he could go further on the path of cultivation?
"Alright, do you want to continue staying at the Spirit Snake Sect to recuperate, or do you want to come with me to the City Lord's Mansion?" Xiao Man inquired.
"I'll go with you to the City Lord's Mansion," Xiang Jian said without hesitation. If he stayed at the Spirit Snake Sect, he would be putting Sikong Mo in danger if he was exposed. He could no longer stay at the Spirit Snake Sect. "Boss, the backer behind the person I offended is extremely powerful. If you continue to keep me with you, it might bring you danger. Do you still want to keep me?"
Xiao Man walked out without looking back. "Don't I have enough enemies? Following me is equivalent to having your head on the chopping block. Do you still want to follow me?"
"Yes!" Xiang Jian said resolutely. "Boss, wait for me."
Xiang Jian went to bid farewell to Sikong Mo. Sikong Mo did not try to keep him. She knew Xiang Jian was ambitious and had aspirations. She could not let Xiang Jian hide forever, especially since it was not his fault.
"Elder, why aren't you trying to keep him?"
"Some people are not canaries in a cage; they cannot be kept," Sikong Mo said slowly. "I asked you to investigate Xiao Qin's identity. Did you find anything?"
"Other than the fact that she comes from the Land of No Return, I haven't found any clues related to her."
"Go and investigate the Heavenly Spirit Sect. See if anyone has been exiled to the Land of No Return over the years."
"Elder, it's impossible. There might be people from the Heavenly Dominion Sect, Heavenly Sword Sect, or even Heavenly Profound Sect in the Land of No Return, but definitely not from the Heavenly Spirit Sect. Those who commit great offenses in the Heavenly Spirit Sect are only imprisoned until death. They would never be sent to the Land of No Return. After all, it is not easy to cultivate a dan master from the Heavenly Spirit Sect. Even if they make a mistake, other sects and factions would be happy to keep such a person."
Sikong Mo frowned. This was indeed true. On the Cang Xuan Continent, the most sought-after were not the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect with the strongest combat power, nor the disciples of the Heavenly Dominion Sect who could control beasts, nor the disciples of the Heavenly Profound Sect who could pry into heavenly secrets and forge divine artifacts. Instead, it was the disciples of the Heavenly Spirit Sect who could refine heaven-defying pills and allow people to ascend to the heavens in one step!
"Elder, are you very curious about Xiao Qin?"
Sikong Mo did not answer. Her curiosity about Xiao Qin was more than just curiosity. As an elder of the Spirit Snake Sect, although most of the pills she held came from the Hundred Medicine Hall, the pills she gave Xiang Jian were purchased from the auction house, and they were produced by the Heavenly Spirit Sect. Even the pills from the Heavenly Spirit Sect could only keep Xiang Jian alive, yet this person could save Xiao Qin.
In a sense, was she even more formidable than a direct disciple of the Heavenly Spirit Sect?
"Elder, if you are very satisfied with Xiao Qin, why not extend an olive branch and invite Xiao Qin to join the Spirit Snake Sect? Her cultivation is not low, at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. The Spirit Snake Sect can provide her with a separate cave dwelling and cultivation pills. I believe Xiao Qin will not refuse."
Sikong Mo had considered recruiting Xiao Man, but she saw more clearly than others that people like Xiao Man had their own set of principles. If she wanted to join a sect, she would find a way to do so through any means necessary. If she did not want to, even if they placed heavenly treasures in front of her, she would probably disdain them.
"I heard that Xiao Qin has a woman named Shan Yun by her side. Her aptitude is not bad. Try to contact her and see if you can recruit her."
"Yes, Elder."
Xiao Man took Xiang Jian towards the City Lord's Mansion. Along the way, she could clearly feel the tense atmosphere in the city.
Disciples of the Azure Wolf Sect had been poisoned by a unique secret poison of the Five Poisons Sect. And the person who refined this poison was none other than the elder of the Five Poisons Sect, Liu Han. The Azure Wolf Sect went to demand the person, and as a result, Liu Han died of apoplexy!
"Elder Lai, Liu Han of the Five Poisons Sect is dead. Now there is no evidence to prove anything. But how should we explain this to the Third Elder?" Elder Wu asked, troubled. Shao Yifan was also someone who caused trouble. He only asked him to come along for fun, but he took a group of people into the Roland Mountain Range and was wiped out. To this day, they still haven't found the killer!
"Let's find the killer first. After we find the killer, we can report it to the Third Elder. Otherwise, with the Third Elder's explosive temper, both of us will be in trouble," Elder Lai said, his head aching. "However, Shao Yifan is at least a cultivator at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Although his cultivation was built up with medicine by the Third Elder, his cultivation level is there. Even if Liu Han was skilled in poison, it wouldn't be easy to kill Shao Yifan. But Shao Yifan and his entire party were killed. Liu Han alone could not have done it."
"You mean someone helped?"
"I don't know if someone helped, but why would the Five Poisons Sect attack our Azure Wolf Sect?" Elder Lai frowned. Two batches of their people had met with misfortune. The first batch of disciples had disappeared without a trace, and the second batch of disciples had been wiped out. The killer had not been found to this day. He always felt that someone was targeting their Azure Wolf Sect.
"I heard that a Golden Core realm expert ambushed Yan Ze and also poisoned him. If Yan Ze hadn't accidentally obtained a detoxification pill that could cure all poisons, he would have been defeated too..." Elder Wu hesitated. "Could it be that someone has their eyes on Wuji City?"
"Wuji City doesn't have anything good. Speaking nicely, the City Lord is a position of power. Speaking not so nicely, they are just gatekeepers. Moreover, because they have been in Wuji City for a long time, they are more or less affected by the toxic miasma from the Land of No Return, and their cultivation is forever stuck at the Golden Core realm. Why would anyone want to seize it?"
"Those who come from the Land of No Return have excellent talent."
"We can't keep people with too much talent," Elder Lai said lazily. People with exceptional talent would be taken by noble families and sects, who would then give them some cultivation resources in exchange. Therefore, they didn't really like people with too much talent. Instead, they preferred disciples with average talent who could stay in the Seven Great Sects.
"Perhaps there are disciples with good talent who are willing to stay in the Seven Great Sects," Elder Wu said enviously. He also wished he had such good talent. However, people who came from the Land of No Return, although talented, found it increasingly difficult to cultivate later on. Most of them stopped at the Nascent Soul stage and could not reach the Divine Transformation stage. But across the entire continent, how many people could reach the Nascent Soul stage?
"Anyway, no matter how good the disciples are, we can't keep them. There's no use in being envious," Elder Lai said, shattering Elder Wu's thoughts. Who wouldn't want good seedlings? But they couldn't keep them. They would cultivate them wholeheartedly, only for them to become disciples of sects or noble families in the end. They all understood that recruitment was just a pretense, merely a way to gain more benefits.
"Elder Lai, could it be that someone is trying to contend for control of Wuji City?"
"That depends on whether they can swallow it. Moreover, only people from the City Lord's Mansion know how to open the barrier. Even if others seize it, it would be useless. Without being able to open the barrier, people from the Land of No Return cannot come out."