Shi Potian travels through Linghu Chong

Chapter 102 Yang Lianting

Qu Yang knew very well that with so many people suddenly disappearing from the Sun Moon Sect, it wouldn’t take long for them to realize something was wrong.

He did not dare to delay for a moment. He first took out his identity badge from Jabu's arms, then stripped off the cult uniforms from two cult members of similar build, and put them on with Shi Potian. He also put some fake beards on their faces as disguises. Finally, he tied up Master Xue Xiang with a rope and took him towards the direction of Heimu Cliff.

Qu Yang has been staying in Hengshan City for these years studying music with Liu Zhengfeng and has never returned to Heimu Cliff. However, as the base of the Demon Cult for hundreds of years, Heimu Cliff has long had a set structure and it is difficult for there to be any major changes overall.

After Yang Lianting took office as the chief steward, he simply added some more coded phrases such as "The leader will rule the world for thousands of years" and "The leader's orders are wise and have no omissions in their plans."

Qu Yang has basically found out all of this in the past half month.

Qu Yang told Shi Potian in detail what kind of incision he would make in the event of a certain situation, and asked Shi Potian to repeat it to him. After confirming that everything was correct, he made an agreement with Shi Potian: "If you hear me cough, it means something is wrong. You must act immediately. Don't hesitate."

As they were talking, the two had already passed the Orangutan Beach and arrived at the entrance of a narrow mountain path. The stone walls on both sides were as high as walls, and there was only a stone path about five feet wide in the middle.

"Who is coming?" The demon cult member guarding the entrance stepped forward to ask.

Qu Yang was prepared. He pushed Master Xue forward and said loudly, "I am Li Jinquan, the deputy master of Qinglong Hall. I am here on the orders of the hall master to escort the traitor Xue Pingfeng back to the altar for trial."

The member of the sect was startled and asked, "Are you talking about Xue Pingfeng, the incense master of Fenglei Hall, 'Iron Arhat' Xue Pingfeng?"

Qu Yang said, "Yes, it's him. Xue Pingfeng colluded with Qu Yang and plotted to rebel against the Holy Church, but was discovered by Hall Master Jia and captured alive. The Hall Master is now hunting down the traitor Qu Yang, so he asked the two of us to take him back to the main temple first." He took out Jia Bu's identity badge from his arms and threw it into the hands of the church member.

Qu Yang used Xue Pingfeng as a cover after careful consideration.

The Sun and Moon Sect has a strict hierarchy. Under the leader are the left and right messengers of light, then the elders, hall masters, deputy hall masters, incense masters, deputy incense masters, and ordinary believers. Different identities are distinguished by the colored belts and badges around their waists.

Among them, the hall master is mostly concurrently held by the elders. For example, Jia Bu is both an elder and the hall master of Qinglong Hall.

As the incense master of Fenglei Hall, Xue Pingfeng has a high status in the Sun and Moon Sect. He is qualified to be taken to the Black Wood Cliff for trial, but it is not necessary for Dongfang Bubai to intervene personally. The most likely possibility is that he will be handed over to the chief steward Yang Lianting for handling.

In this way, they would have the opportunity to kidnap Yang Lianting, use him as a hostage, and force Dongfang Bubai to hand over Qu Feiyan and let them leave Heimu Cliff.

The member of the sect took the badge and checked it, then shone the torch on Xue Pingfeng's face. Seeing that it was indeed Xue Pingfeng, the incense master of Qinglong Hall, he did not suspect anything and let the three people go immediately.

Qu Yang and Shi Potian escorted Xue Pingfeng forward, passing three mountain paths and a water beach, and walked along the steep mountain path for more than ten miles before they arrived at the foot of the Black Wood Cliff, the headquarters of the Demon Cult.

The Sun and Moon Sect guarded the route heavily, and many of them were equipped with bows and crossbows. They looked nothing like a gangster force, but more like warlords who controlled a certain area.

Qu Yang was on edge, ready to be discovered and attacked immediately.

Fortunately, it was already night and the light was dim, and with Master Xue Xiang in the front, he attracted most of the attention, so he, the real wanted criminal, was not discovered.

The two men escorted Master Xue Xiang up the cliff along the stone steps, passed through three iron gates, checked the badges three times, and arrived in front of a large stone gate.

There were two lines of large characters engraved on both sides, the one on the right read "Wencheng Wude", the one on the left read "Renyi Yingming", and the horizontal banner had four large red characters "Sun and Moon Bright" engraved on it.

Qu Yang thought, "Yang Lianting is really a man of many tricks. No wonder he was able to fool Dongfang Bubai so much that he created a position of chief steward for him and gave him all the power in the sect."

But on second thought, he found it very strange: "Dongfang Bubai took advantage of Ren Woxing's retreat to eliminate dissidents and usurp the position of leader. Why did he dare to hand over all the power in the sect to Yang Lianting? Isn't he afraid of following Ren Woxing's old path?"

While they were wondering, the three of them had already gotten on the bamboo basket. With three gong sounds, the bamboo basket slowly rose higher.

Qu Yang was no longer surprised by all this, but Shi Potian was greatly surprised. He could not help but look up, and saw light clouds floating above. After a while, he entered the clouds and looked down at the bottom of the basket, but all he saw was a pitch-black area with only a few barely detectable sparks.

After a long time, the bamboo basket finally stopped, but it did not reach the top of the cliff, but needed to be changed.

The Blackwood Cliff is extremely high, with three winches in the middle. It took four attempts to finally winch to the top of the cliff.

As you head towards us, you'll see a huge white marble archway with four large golden characters on it: "Benefiting the Common People".

A middle-aged man in a purple robe was standing in front of the archway. When he saw the three men climbing up the cliff, he walked over and said impatiently, "Are you Li Jinquan? Did Jia Bu ask you to escort this traitor over here?"

Qu Yang was very confused.

Before they came up, some members of the Demon Cult had already reported the matter to Yang Lianting, the chief steward.

It was not surprising that Yang Lianting would send someone over, but shouldn't he have sent someone from the Punishment Hall? Why did he send a purple-robed attendant who did odd jobs and served people?
Moreover, the servant's tone was a bit too arrogant!

Jiabu is not only an elder of the Sun and Moon Sect, but also the head of the Azure Dragon Hall. His status is second only to the Sect Leader and the left and right Messengers of Light.

He actually dared to call Jabu by his name, without any respect in his words. This kind of thing would never have happened in the previous cults.

"Yang Lianting, the servant leader, is deeply trusted by Dongfang Bubai. Does that mean that his servants can bully the elder hall master?"

When Qu Yang saw the Sun Moon Sect become like this, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly, and at the same time he was somewhat glad that he chose to leave Black Wood Cliff that year.

Otherwise, with his temper, he would have been unable to resist and slapped to death these servants who did not know the hierarchy, and had a head-on conflict with Yang Lianting.

Qu Yang reacted very quickly and said respectfully, "The incense master of Fenglei Hall, Xue Pingfeng, colluded with Qu Yang and betrayed the religion and plotted treason. I am following the order of Hall Master Jia to bring him to the main altar for trial."

The purple-robed attendant snorted coldly and said, "It's so cold today, and you want to disturb the general manager's rest just for such a small matter. It's really unreasonable! The general manager said that if you encounter such a thing in the future, you should kill him on the spot and there is no need to bring him back to the headquarters!" After saying that, he was about to leave.

Qu Yang had been in Hengshan City for so long, and had seen Liu Zhengfeng dealing with court officials. He had seen pigs run even though he had never eaten pork. He immediately took two quick steps, caught up with him, and quietly stuffed the silver bills he had looted from the demon cult members into his hands. The purple-robed attendant rubbed his hands together, and he knew what was going on. His expression immediately eased, and he said, "Brother, what are you doing?"

Qu Yang suppressed his nausea and imitated Liu Zhengfeng, saying with a smile, "I'm sorry for bothering you to endure the cold in the middle of the night. I'm just offering you a small gift as a token of my apology."

The purple robe attendant smiled and said, "We are all working for the leader and the general manager. I will go through fire and water without hesitation. It doesn't matter if I have to endure a little cold."

He glanced at the Incense Master Xue next to him and said, "Ever since the evil thief Ren Woxing escaped from the West Lake dungeon, many traitors in our Holy Church have colluded with him. Three elders alone have been arrested during this period. If Elder Jia wants to make a contribution, it is too insignificant to have only the Incense Master of Fenglei Hall."

Qu Yang finally realized what he had missed. He quickly came up with an idea and followed the purple-robed attendant's words, saying, "To be honest, I caught Xue Pingfeng myself..."

The purple-robed attendant showed a look of understanding and said with a smile, "I see. This achievement is not worth mentioning if it is given to Elder Jia, but it is enough for you, brother. You can't escape the position of incense master."

Qu Yang said, "Brother, I have always heard that the General Manager is comparable to a Bole, and has the ability to judge people. Anyone who receives his guidance will benefit greatly. I wonder if I can have this honor?"

As he spoke, he took out a handful of banknotes and handed them over, saying, "I know that the chief steward is very busy and may not be available. Brother, just help me pass on a message. Whether it succeeds or not, I will never forget your kindness."

The purple-robed attendant was a little displeased when he saw Qu Yang pushing his way too far, but when he saw the thick stack of banknotes that Qu Yang handed over, he immediately smiled. He glanced at Incense Master Xue and asked, "Is he the Incense Master of Fenglei Hall? Is he Tong Baixiong's subordinate?"

Qu Yang nodded.

The purple-robed attendant said, "How could a mere incense master have the guts to collude with a traitor? There must be someone behind him, brother Li, what do you think?"

Qu Yang was stunned for a long time, until the purple-robed attendant frowned and showed impatience, then he quickly nodded and said: "Brother, you are right."

The purple-robed attendant said, "That's right. Tong Baixiong, that old man, usually takes advantage of the kindness of the leader and always bullies others. The general manager has long suspected that he has evil intentions. It is a great achievement for you to discover this. The leader and the general manager will certainly reward you generously. You wait, I will report to the general manager."

Qu Yang watched the purple-robed attendant leave, then glanced at Shi Potian beside him, thinking, "The Sun Moon Divine Sect has dominated the martial arts world for hundreds of years, but I'm afraid it will end here."

Tong Baixiong is Dongfang Bubai's savior. He is also the first person to stand up and express his support after Dongfang Bubai took over the power of the Sun Moon Sect. For this reason, he even killed Elder Luo of the Suzaku Hall on the spot.

Yang Lianting, unaware that Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian's martial arts were completely destroyed, did not try to win the hearts of the people, but was still framing and eliminating dissidents. The Sun Moon Sect was probably not far from decline.

Yang Lianting was obviously very anxious to kill Tong Baixiong. The purple-robed attendant went in for only a moment before quickly walking out again, saying with a smile, "Brother Li, the general manager has heard about the Fenglei Hall incident and is even worried. He asked you to go in immediately and report the incident to him in detail. Come with me."

Qu Yang winked at Shi Po Tianshi, signaling him to find an opportunity to take action. He picked up Xue Pingfeng and followed the purple-robed servant inside, passing through the archway and arriving at a big gate.

Two other purple-robed men led the three people into the back hall and said, "Wait here."

Qu Yang responded, "Yes!" and pushed the brim of his hat down. When he was in the Demon Sect, he met Yang Lianting many times and was worried that Yang Lianting would recognize him.

After a while, the sound of footsteps was heard, and it seemed that the man's lower body was weak and he had little internal strength.

With a cough, a person came out from behind the screen.

Qu Yang looked up and saw that the man was less than thirty years old, wearing a maroon satin leather robe, with a sturdy figure, a full beard, and an extremely strong and majestic appearance.

It was Yang Lianting, the chief steward of the Sun and Moon Sect!
Yang Lianting had excellent eyesight and quick reaction. He recognized Qu Yang's identity almost the moment Qu Yang raised his head. His face changed and he hurriedly stepped back, opening his mouth to call for help.

However, Qu Yang was faster. After confirming that the person coming was Yang Lianting, he immediately coughed, rushed forward, pressed several acupoints on Yang Lianting, and captured him.

Shi Potian received the signal, and in a flash he pounced towards the four purple-robed attendants following Yang Lianting.

Yang Lianting never thought that anyone would dare to trespass into the Black Wood Cliff. The people he brought with him were all his subordinates who were easy to use on a daily basis. They were good at figuring out people's thoughts and doing things in a flattering manner, but their martial arts skills were not worth mentioning.

Not to mention, he is by Shi Potian's side.

The four purple-robed attendants didn't even have a chance to react before Shi Potian pressed their acupoints.

Qu Yang didn't expect that everything would go so smoothly. His face was full of joy and he said with a smile: "Yang Lianting, do you recognize me?"

Yang Lianting fell into Qu Yang's hands, but there was no panic on his face. He said proudly: "Qu Yang, you first defected to the Five Mountains Sword Sect to slander the reputation of our Holy Church, and then defected to the traitor Ren Woxing to rebel. How dare you return to Black Wood Cliff?"

Qu Yang sneered: "If you hadn't captured my granddaughter, do you think I would be willing to come back to this place again!"

Thinking of how Yang Lianting had brought disaster to the Sun and Moon Sect, he suddenly became furious. He reached out and grabbed Yang Lianting's neck and lifted him up.

With just a little effort, Yang Lianting became breathless and his face turned red and then gradually purple.

Unexpectedly, although Yang Lianting's martial arts skills were mediocre, he was a very tough person. He knew he couldn't break free, so he simply stopped struggling and just glared at Qu Yang fiercely.

Qu Yang sneered, "I want to see how long you can last!" He continued to exert force with his hands.

In Qu Yang's opinion, Yang Lianting is a treacherous villain who can only flatter and flatter but has no real ability and must be afraid of death.

But what he didn't expect was that until Yang Lianting's body began to twitch uncontrollably and he rolled his eyes, he showed no sign of giving in or begging for mercy.

Qu Yang could only let go of his hand and said, "You still have some backbone. Yang Lianting, we are here today just to save people. If you hand over Feifei and send us down the mountain, I can spare your life."

(End of this chapter)