Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 88 Drawing the Sword
In October, the summer heat should have been coming to an end, but this year it has not retreated yet. In addition, the rain this year has been particularly abundant, so the whole Qinghe County is stuffy, just like a steamer, making people particularly uncomfortable.

Five miles outside Qinghe County, on the bank of Qingyuan River, a Taoist temple is being built on a peninsula.

This peninsula was originally nameless, but later the Yuling Sect chose it and named it Yuxi Island, because there is a stream on the island that flows into the Qingyuan River. The stream water is extremely clear, and looking down from above, it looks like a jade belt.

"Master, the lumber we ordered has been delayed again. The reason they gave is that the heavy rain has made the roads difficult to travel, and more and more people have been quitting their jobs recently."

With his head lowered, a thin young man in a blue Taoist robe with a few pockmarks on his face reported the latest situation to the white-haired Taoist Luo Qiao.

He is one of the only two remaining disciples of Yuling Sect, named Li Fei. His cultivation is not high and he is still tempering his limbs. Now he is mainly responsible for the trivial matters of rebuilding Yuling Sect. As for the other disciple Meng Shan, he does more manual work.

He has made an indelible contribution to the current progress of the Yuling Temple built by the Yuling Sect.

Hearing this, Luo Qiao took a deep breath, holding the pipe in his hand, and remained silent for a while.

"Master, strange things have been happening frequently lately. First, a group of workers were poisoned. Then there were rumors that we were oppressing the people and using human bones to lay the foundation for the Taoist temple, causing panic among the people. Now, the delivery of materials has been delayed again and again. There's definitely someone behind this, and it's most likely the Taiping Sect."

"Master, we have to do something. If we continue like this, let alone building a Taoist temple, even if we do build one, our reputation will be ruined. I'm afraid it will be difficult to recruit disciples."

Worried, looking at the silent Luo Qiao, Li Fei couldn't help but speak.

The reconstruction of Yulingmen went smoothly at the beginning. With the reconstruction resources provided by the Gao family and some official help from the county magistrate Liao Yonghuai, they successfully settled in Qinghe and occupied Yuxi Island. But as time passed, more and more strange things began to happen.

One thing can be said to be a coincidence, but so many things added together are definitely not a coincidence. And in Qinghe County, the only one who has the ability and motivation to do this is the Taiping Sect.

"What do Liao Yonghuai and the Gao family say?"

Continuing to smoke, Luo Qiao asked casually.

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Fei's face immediately showed an expression of indignation.

"Master, Liao Yonghuai is a pure greedy villain, not worth collaborating with. Although he didn't say it explicitly, his implication is that he has given all the help he can, and the rest is up to us. He also said that he is the governor of the county and cannot be too partial. He clearly wants to use us to deal with the Taiping Sect, but now he is unwilling to provide any help at all. He is really short-sighted."

"As for the Gao family, there has been no reply yet."

Thinking of Liao Yonghuai's face, Li Fei was filled with disgust.

Hearing this, Luo Qiao raised his head. Compared to before, he seemed to be a little older now, and the blind eye made him look even more old.

"Liao Yonghuai's reputation as a miser is well-deserved. He's willing to help without spending any money, but hesitates when it comes to real investment. Now we can't count on him. As for the Gao family, they're probably happy with our current situation. They're forcing us to make a choice."

After understanding Liao Yonghuai and the Gao family's thoughts, Luo Qiao couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

"I underestimated the Taiping Sect. I originally thought that the Taiping Sect had only been established for a short time and didn't have a deep foundation. As long as it developed normally, relying on the original foundation of my Yuling Sect, I would be able to suppress it sooner or later, or even annex it. But I didn't expect that in such a short period of time, the Taiping Sect had already run Qinghe County into an iron bucket and won the hearts of the people of Qinghe."

"But you're also right. I'm just an old fisherman on the river, nothing more than dry bones in a tomb. How can I compete with the reputation of Feihong Sword Immortal?" Thinking of what he had experienced in Taiping County during this period, Luo Qiao felt a surge of pride in his heart.

During this period, in order to win over the hearts of the people and establish his authority, he also demonstrated his Qi training skills, but the effect was not good. People were afraid of him, but did not respect him at all, and no one thought that an old man like him could be Jiang Chen's opponent.

In the final analysis, the name of Feihong Sword Immortal is too deeply rooted in people's hearts. It is difficult for ordinary people to guess the gap between Qi-cultivating cultivators. All the previous deeds tell them that Jiang Chen is definitely a strong man, not to mention that the appearance of Jiang Chen and Taiping Sect has indeed brought them benefits.

Under such circumstances, compared to the Yuling Sect, which only had three people and seemed weak, they naturally actively moved closer to the Taiping Sect.

Looking at Luo Qiao like this, Li Fei was shocked. He knew that his master was really angry.

"People in this world are so ignorant. How could they understand the teacher's methods?"

His words were steady and powerful, and Li Fei had great respect for his master.

Hearing this, Luo Qiao waved his hand.

"I'm just starting to cultivate my Qi at the age of sixty. Naturally, I can't compare to that Taoist Taiping Jiang Chen in terms of talent. But I'm over a hundred now, and I've lived a lot longer than him, so I still have some tricks up my sleeve."

"Li Fei, remember, as cultivators of our generation, we fight for our lives against heaven and for the truth against others. We never lack courage. We must draw our swords when it's time to do so. Rather than being dragged to death by the Taiping Sect, it's better to fight it out directly on the sword tip."

"I also want to see if the Feihong Sword is sharp enough to chop off my almost rotten head. Go, send a challenge to the Taoist Taiping of the Taiping Sect and invite him to a duel at Baishazhou in three days. Also, invite Liao Yonghuai and the powerful people in the county to be witnesses."

"This battle will determine both superiority and inferiority, as well as life and death. The winner will be the only sect in Qinghe County. Conspiracies and popular support are merely embellishments. For cultivators like me, strength is still the most important thing."

His tone was firm, and at this moment, Luo Qiao's back straightened up, and all the tiredness in his heart was washed away.

Hearing this, Li Fei understood what Luo Qiao was planning to do and became excited.

"Yes, master!"

Li Fei bowed and responded without any hesitation. He immediately issued a challenge. He had absolute confidence in his master's strength.

"This should be what the Gao family and Liao Yonghuai want to see."

After Li Fei left, Luo Qiao looked at the river in the distance and exhaled a puff of thick smoke. At this moment, his originally old face was obscured by the smoke, making it impossible to see the changes in his expression.

Be it the Gao family or Liao Yonghuai, their fundamental purpose in funding him was to deal with the Taiping Sect. Now that he had invested a lot in Qinghe County, it would be difficult for him to move to another place, and he himself had no better place to go.

In this situation, if he didn't want to lose miserably, the best way was to use the most direct means to compete with Jiang Chen to determine his superiority and life and death.

(End of this chapter)