Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 261 Old Monster
The hustle and bustle of Muyu Island has faded away.

With the head of the red fox as a sacrifice, the Taiping Sect finally stepped into the limelight and became the dominant force in Qingyuan County. After witnessing Jiang Chen's cold, moon-like sword light, all forces chose to curry favor with the Taiping Sect and recognized its position as the leader of all forces.

From then on, the Taiping Sect rose to become the leader of Qingyuan County, a feat that neither the Lu family nor the prefectural governor's office had achieved before. This was because they lacked the strength of Jiang Chen and because their checks and balances allowed other forces room to maneuver.

However, Qingyuan County is different now. The forces that stood in the way of Taiping Sect have either collapsed or been destroyed, leaving Taiping Sect as the only dominant force in the vast Qingyuan County.

"Sect Master, all forces have begun to mobilize according to plan, and a new defensive line will soon be formed. At that time, we can begin the counterattack."

"In addition, the officials of the prefectural governor's office have also made their stance clear. They are willing to grant our Taiping Sect the mining rights to the spirit sand mine, as promised by the former prefect Qi Xiuning. Apart from the portion that needs to be paid to the imperial court, the rest will all belong to our Taiping Sect."

With a joyful expression, Wang Yuan approached Jiang Chen.

Hearing this, Jiang Chen's expression remained unchanged. In the cultivation world, strength ultimately speaks. When he unleashed that sword strike, the status of the Taiping Sect was already established.

"Have the two old men, Black and White, go to the Spirit Sand Mine to oversee its mining operations."

"Furthermore, news has been released that the Taiping Sect intends to recruit some cultivators."

With a calm and even tone, Jiang Chen made his decision.

Spirit sand mines are extremely important resources, and the Taiping Sect naturally values ​​them. Only by controlling spirit sand mines can the Taiping Sect grow rapidly. Unfortunately, the Taiping Sect still has too few capable people. It's just that the Black and White Elders made a trip to show their attitude.

Fortunately, the spirit sand mine has always been guarded by the prefectural governor's office. It is protected by a large array and has a Qi Refining Master directly under the Southern Jing Kingdom stationed there, so there is no need to worry about safety issues in the short term.

Upon hearing Jiang Chen's words, Wang Yuan immediately bowed and agreed.

After Wang Yuan left, Jiang Chen couldn't help but turn his gaze to the distance.

"Once I've reached the peak of Qi Refining, the Taiping Sect can offer me very little more help."

With an inscrutable expression, Jiang Chen's thoughts drifted away.

The Taiping Sect is indeed unparalleled in power now, but all of this is based on its leader, and apart from him, the Taiping Sect actually doesn't have many other people available.

With the help of the Skin-Clad Technique, the Taiping Sect has indeed cultivated several martial artists with Qi Refining combat power over the years, but most of these martial artists' combat power has remained at the early stage of Qi Refining, and they are already somewhat unable to keep up with the current pace of the Taiping Sect.

In such a situation, if one does not want to accumulate strength quietly, recruiting skilled independent cultivators is indeed a quick way to make up for shortcomings.

The only drawback might be that it would further complicate the composition of the Taiping Sect, but he himself didn't really care about that. His initial purpose in establishing the Taiping Sect was to facilitate his own resource gathering and better cultivation.

So far, he has no real intention of establishing a lineage; he has neither the idea nor the ability to do so.

"I wonder how long the Impermanence Sect will remain in existence."

With a soft sigh, Jiang Chen withdrew his gaze and disappeared from sight.

He planned to first raise the Mist Dragon's strength to its current limit, then occupy the four southern prefectures, plunder their resources to support himself, and use the Southern Jing Kingdom as a springboard to search for traces of the Impermanent Sect. If he still found nothing by then, he might consider leaving this place. Meanwhile, with the news that the Taiping Sect intended to recruit a group of cultivators, many people were tempted.

Not to mention those unattached rogue cultivators, even many cultivation families have their own ideas and intend to send their disciples to the Taiping Sect for cultivation. After all, sects and families are different and are not as exclusive. The Taiping Sect's past style has been to teach without discrimination, so theoretically this is entirely feasible.

Under such circumstances, the power and prestige of the Taiping Sect were pushed to their absolute peak.

On Yan Hui Island, Fu Ling Sanren fell into deep thought as he looked at the latest news.

Jiang Chen did not attend the promotion ceremony because he knew clearly what the Taiping Sect was holding the ceremony for. As a rogue cultivator, he did not intend to get involved. Moreover, the actions of the Five Immortals Mountain during this period had made him realize that something was wrong.

"With a single sword strike, the cold moon is born; with a single strike, the Crimson Fox is killed. Such strength and such methods cannot be explained simply by the term 'sword cultivator.'"

With a furrowed brow, various thoughts flashed through Fu Ling Sanren's mind.

He had a wide circle of friends. Although he had not personally gone to Muyu Island, he was well aware of what had happened there. However, it was precisely because of this that he knew that the rumors circulating outside were not exaggerated, but rather a true reflection of reality, and might even have underestimated it.

As someone who had once fought the Red Fox to the death, he had a deep understanding of the Red Fox's strength. The Red Fox was not top-tier in the Qi Refining level, but it was definitely not weak. If he hadn't had the Demon Suppression Talisman as a trump card that caught the opponent off guard, he might have really suffered a great loss.

That's why, after confirming that Jiang Chen had indeed killed the Red Fox with a single sword strike, he was filled with disbelief.

"Is this Taoist of Peace really still a Qi Refining cultivator? Could it be that he has already taken that step?"

The more he thought about it, the more something seemed off. Suddenly, an idea popped into Fu Ling Sanren's mind.

In his mind, only those at the Foundation Establishment stage above Qi Refining could kill the Red Fox like chickens and dogs. However, he quickly dismissed this idea, because it seemed that the Taoist of Peace did not meet the requirements for advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage, and that step was not so easy to take.

"No, no, no, there is another possibility: that the Taoist Master Taiping is actually a Foundation Establishment cultivator, an old monster. His so-called newly promoted Qi Refining Perfection is just a deliberate illusion."

"He has actually been doing similar things all along. When others thought he was in the early stage of Qi Refining, he would show the strength of Qi Refining Minor Completion. When others thought he was Qi Refining Minor Completion, he would show the strength of Qi Refining Major Completion. He always made others' guesses one step behind him and enjoyed the pleasure of fooling others."

Recalling Jiang Chen's past, another possibility arose in Fu Ling Sanren's mind.

As soon as this thought arose, he was startled. He hadn't noticed it before, but now, looking back, Jiang Chen's growth path was indeed a bit strange.

“If the Taoist Master Taiping, no, Senior Taiping, is really a Foundation Establishment cultivator in disguise, then everything makes sense.”

"But who is Senior Taiping really? What is his purpose in doing this? Is he simply playing around, or does he have some other scheme?"

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became.

"Want to take a look?"

Suppressing his doubts, Fu Ling Sanren turned his gaze toward Muyu Island, feeling quite hesitant. The last part of the letter in his hand contained information about the Taiping Sect recruiting cultivators.

(End of this chapter)