Recruit black physique to start practice in wasteland

Chapter 2386: Cut it off when necessary
The newcomer was a middle-aged scholar with an extraordinary bearing. He glanced around and then fixed his gaze on the patriarch of the Shi family.

He raised his hand in a gesture of respect, "Could it be Elder Shi in person? I am Zhongming, Zhongxuan's third senior brother!"

"So it's Brother Zhongming, I've long admired your name," the Shi family patriarch said with delight.

He referred to his grandson's senior brother as "Daoist brother," which shows that seniority in the cultivation world is sometimes impossible to calculate precisely.

Then he glanced at Mu Guang and said, “Brother, please wait a moment. Let me finish what I need to do first, and then we can talk slowly.”

The middle-aged Confucian scholar naturally knew what so many Nascent Soul cultivators outside the plate were doing, and why they were clearly divided into factions.

He wouldn't intervene directly, because even if his junior brother Shi Zhongxuan were present, he might not get involved.

Lingyun Sect does not particularly emphasize severing ties of affection and sexuality, but this is still a taboo of the sect. Once you join the sect, you should mind your own family affairs.

Especially since the Shi family's influence is not insignificant, it is even more necessary to avoid suspicion.

Zhongming Zhenxian came here on business, but at his junior brother's request, he came to visit the Shi family.

Moreover, the Shi family wields considerable influence in this area, and they might be able to offer some assistance.

He felt a little embarrassed to be in this situation right away.

Strictly speaking, it's more convenient for Junior Brother Zhongxuan to handle matters at No. 3 Efeng, as he's more familiar with the people there.

But why didn't he come? It's because he's too familiar with everyone, and the sect needs to prevent any corruption and guard against anyone taking the opportunity to grow too powerful.

Therefore, he needs to find out the whole story today.

If the Shi family was truly being bullied, he couldn't just stand by and watch, since besides being fellow disciples, his junior brother was also a potential Immortal Venerable.

Even if Lingyun Sect finds out, they can't say anything—if the sect's prodigy can't protect the family, whose face is being slapped?

But after glancing around, he was immediately taken aback. "This... could it be me, fellow Daoist?"

Bentley wasn't thinking about talking to anyone; he just wanted to act when necessary without overthinking it.

He really didn't expect that anyone would recognize him.

Fortunately, he had long since cultivated a calm and composed mind, and upon hearing this, he merely glanced at the other person indifferently without replying.

"Hmm?" The Shi family patriarch, who had initially thought reinforcements had arrived, was taken aback upon hearing this.

He knew that the sect's power could be borrowed, but it couldn't be used recklessly, and he was thinking about how to make use of it.

Upon hearing that the two sides knew each other, his heart was filled with turmoil.

Seeing that the other party was ignoring him, Zhongming Zhenxian didn't mind at all, and even smiled.

"Fellow Daoist is a rare Nascent Soul Thunder Cultivator, highly praised within the sect."

This is the perspective from the upper realm. Among the disciples of Lingyun Sect, very few pay attention to Cangwu Realm, let alone Hongye Ridge.

Jin Ge could notice the people at Red Leaf Ridge, and besides Qu Jianlei, Min Ning and Han Li could probably only pay attention to Jing Yuexin.

The other disciples of Lingyun Sect are different. Among those who know Red Leaf Ridge, besides the Ridge Master Qu, the second most famous is Bentley!

The reason is simple: there's no reason for them to remember anyone else!
Bentley had no choice but to answer stiffly, "Rayshu is nothing special, he just uses unorthodox methods and his defense is also very poor."

“Oh,” Zhongming Zhenxian didn’t know his personality. Seeing that the other party was indifferent, he nodded and remained silent.

He could have either stayed out of the Shi family's affairs or not, but now that Red Leaf Ridge was involved, what business was it of his?

When the Shi family patriarch saw that he was no longer involved in affairs, he was really anxious. This was Zhongxuan's senior brother!

If even he doesn't care, this matter is beyond repair, so he simply spoke up, "Brother Zhongming, listen to me..."

I really don't want to hear this, I'd rather I hadn't come today! The middle-aged scholar nodded slightly, "Yes, go ahead!"

Because this was the last straw, the Shi family patriarch dared not embellish the story and simply told the truth.

"Your people went and provoked this gang leader?" Zhongming Zhenxian's expression was a little strange.

Red Leaf Ridge... that's related to the whereabouts of Patriarch Huzhongzi, and it's said that the sect's recent major actions are also related to them.

However, upon hearing the last part, he was slightly taken aback, "The Five Elements Origin... a complete set?"

The Lingyun Sect has existed for far too long; its internal structure is bloated, its personnel relationships are intricate, and its efficiency is outdated and incompetent…

Anyway, those who know, know all the negative symptoms of those big institutional problems; Lingyun Sect basically has them all.

The good thing is that the basic operational order of Lingyun Sect is not problematic.

Zhongming Zhenxian really didn't want to get involved in this matter, but he finally couldn't help himself—wasn't this a ridiculous price?

“Yes,” Mu Guang nodded casually, “My two female cultivators at the Golden Core stage are just honestly doing business, what did they do to deserve this?”

"So what if they're unreasonable? They can do it, so can we!"

“I’m not involved in this,” Zhongming Zhenxian waved his hand. “I’ll just say one thing: the price is too high, isn’t it, Feihong?”

"What does this have to do with me?" Immortal Fei Hong looked completely bewildered. "I was just helping the Great Venerable protect our distinguished guest, it wasn't my intention!"

He realized that the other party thought he was using the name of Venerable Minning to secretly cause trouble.

The problem is... is this a game of fate that I can afford to get involved in?

“It has nothing to do with him!” Bentley blurted out, but refused to say anything more.

But for him, this was already quite an achievement. Lao Ben was always the kind of person in the team who would rather take action than talk.

“That’s… a bit ruthless,” Zhongming Zhenxian hesitated for a moment, but still insisted on his own opinion.

"Zhongxuan is my junior brother, but that has little to do with it. I'm just stating the facts!"

“You don’t need to explain so much,” Mu Guang said with a smile. He knew Lao Ben wasn’t good with words, so he took over the conversation directly.

"An explanation is just a cover-up, and a cover-up means it actually happened... Isn't it a bit too much of a coincidence that you came here?"

"Huh?" Zhongming Zhenxian looked astonished. This is... I've gotten myself into this mess?
Instinctively, he glared fiercely at Immortal Fei Hong, "Your methods are impressive!"

"Huh?" Immortal Fei Hong, who was engrossed in watching the drama unfold, looked astonished upon hearing this. "What the hell does this have to do with me?"

The Shi family patriarch pursed his lips tightly, not daring to utter a sound, for fear of disrupting the other party's rhythm.

"Alright," suddenly, another figure appeared, "Enough with the talk, isn't your Shi family in the wrong?"

"Boss!" Mu Guang and Bentley spoke in unison, while Jia Shuiqing and Qinghu remained silent.

"Is this the key figure on the other side?" The Shi family patriarch nodded without hesitation. "It was my subordinates who were ignorant and made a mistake."

He was extremely careful with his words, and dared not utter a single wrong word when facing the top figure of the other party.

Qu Jianlei didn't take it to heart. "I'm willing to give this Fellow Daoist Zhongming some face, but if you don't deal with your subordinates, you can't give him face!"

Dealing with the subordinates... The Shi family patriarch subconsciously glanced at Niu Zhenxian, only to find that the other was also looking at him with a pale face.

"Boss, I know I was wrong."

"Brother, it's my fault for not disciplining you properly!" The Shi family patriarch sighed heavily, raised his hand, and severed the other man's left arm.

This is truly ruthless. Both of them are at the Nascent Soul stage, and unless under specific circumstances, it would be very difficult to easily sever an arm.

He knew he had wronged Niu Zhenxian, but there was no other way; he had to get through this hurdle first.

Because he was surrounded by Nascent Soul cultivators, he didn't dare to use any tricks in this attack.

So what if he lived to be 1,600 years old? There are countless Nascent Soul techniques out there; he couldn't possibly know them all.

The real problem is that if you only slightly reduce the water level, the consequences could be disastrous if someone notices it.

In any case, if a Nascent Soul cultivator loses an arm, it's just a loss of the physical body. If it doesn't damage the foundation, it can recover in a hundred or two hundred years at most.

Just then, Zhongming Zhenxian took a deep breath and asked, "Master Qu, what's going on?"

“He’s definitely not injured,” said Fei Hong Zhenxian leisurely.

Although he was not from a sect, his insight was no less than that of a sect disciple—and perhaps even better.

After all, in society, if you don't have any powerful connections, you still have to rely on your judgment.

"Does this mean... I should congratulate him?"

"You think losing face is just an arm?" Qu Jianlei scoffed. "Oh, so my face is worth that little?"

"Master Qu, I was wrong!" The Shi family patriarch's expression changed, and with a wave of his hand, a beam of green light was emitted.

Where the azure light passed, the True Immortal Niu beside him vanished into nothingness, not even having time for his Nascent Soul to fly away.

Upon seeing this, the True Immortals beside him all changed their expressions—"You just casually wiped out your old brother of hundreds of years?"
The patriarch of the Shi family could imagine how others would feel, but there were some things... he really couldn't say!

The person opposite me is already a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator. The unstable aura is because he is suppressing his breakthrough!

Most people probably don't understand just how terrifying it is.

Generally speaking, no matter which level you are aiming for, you should go into seclusion. How can you just wander around like that?
When it comes to the Golden Core stage and the Nascent Soul stage, which Golden Core cultivator would walk around with the aura of a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator?

The same applies to those who are halfway to the Nascent Soul stage; if their breath is disturbed, all their efforts will be in vain!
The Shi family patriarch wasn't sure if others could discern this aura—many would only feel that something was amiss!
But he had actually encountered it before and was absolutely certain that his own actions had interfered with the opponent's attempt to break free from their physical form!

Even cutting off an arm wouldn't have been enough, so without hesitation, he sent away his little brother of over five hundred years!
It wasn't that he was heartless, but he really had no choice but to send him away. If Niu Zhenxian were to die, only one family would die, but the Shi family... was a whole family!

"Huh?" Qu Jianlei looked at him in surprise. "You're quite heartless!"

In his mind, Niu Zhenxian must be severely punished; there was no room for negotiation.

A great storm begins with a single ripple; the lowest level is often the source of all trouble.

But he really didn't expect that the Shi family patriarch would be so resolute, actually directly killing a True Immortal.

To put it another way, even if Niu Zhenxian's true strength was weak, it was impossible for him to be wiped out in one move.

But whether it was having an arm cut off or being completely wiped out in the end, Niu Zhenxian showed no sign of being on guard.

Losing an arm is easy to deal with; Niu Zhenxian probably already thought of that. Anyway, it doesn't matter; it won't damage his foundation!

However, Niu Zhenxian should never have expected that his boss could launch a fatal attack without warning and take him away.

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