15: Chapter 15 Zhao Feng's Scheme Leads to a Dead End

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another month passed.

The bell for the end-of-year assessment in the Xuantian Sect Outer Sect was about to ring.

In the past few days, the atmosphere of the entire Outer Sect had become unusually tense.

The assessment rating was directly related to the resource distribution of Outer Sect Disciples, and for the low-level handymen, it was even a ghost gate that decided life and death.

Rated as superior, rewarded with Spirit Stone and Medicinal Pill.

Rated as inferior, directly banished to do hard labor in the most dangerous place of the Sect!

The Outer Sect Herb Garden remained as lifeless as ever.

Qi Yang still carried a hoe down to the fields every day, looking half-dead and cowardly.

But Su Qinghan in the West Wing Room had been unusually restless these past few days.

Her injuries had fully healed, and her Qi Condensation 6th Layer cultivation base had completely stabilized. Over the past few days, she frequently went out to gather information, and every time she returned, her expression was even gloomier than before.

Toward evening.

Qi Yang was sitting by the stone table, slowly wiping his hoe with a rag.

Bang!

The door of the West Wing Room was violently pushed open.

Su Qinghan strode up to the stone table. Her peerlessly beautiful face was covered in frost, and her phoenix eyes suppressed anger and despair.

"Qi Yang, stop wiping that damned hoe of yours!"

Su Qinghan pressed her hand onto Qi Yang's, her voice trembling.

"The Outer Sect Herb Garden cannot be saved, and neither you nor I will survive."

The movement in Qi Yang's hands paused. A trace of imperceptible sharp light flashed through his turbid old eyes, but on the surface, he immediately feigned a terrified appearance.

"Fairy... What do you mean by that? This old man's share of Spirit Medicine this month is completely full! All of them are of superior quality!"

"Share? Quality?"

Su Qinghan gave a miserable smile, her eyes full of mockery.

"In a man-eating place like the Xuantian Sect, rules are bullshit! Those in power and with influence are the rules!"

She took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "I went to the Outer Sect main Peak to inquire about it today."

"That Zhao Feng of the Qi Condensation 8th Layer secretly bribed Steward Wang, who is in charge of the end-of-year assessment!"

"They have already decided beforehand to rate this Outer Sect Herb Garden as inferior!"

Qi Yang's pupils suddenly constricted.

Inferior!

According to the Sect rules, once the Outer Sect Herb Garden was rated as inferior, the handyman responsible for tending it would be directly banished to mine in the Heifeng Mine where ten deaths awaited and no life returned!

Heifeng Mine!

What kind of place was that?

That was a demon cave used by the Xuantian Sect to exile death row prisoners and waste! All year round, black winds that could strip flesh and bones blew inside, and countless blood-thirsty demonic insects entrenched themselves there.

Not to mention a hundred-year-old geezer at the Qi Condensation Third Layer, even if a Cultivator at the Qi Condensation 6th Layer went in, they definitely wouldn't last three months!

"This... How is this possible!"

Qi Yang coughed violently.

"This old man has diligently farmed for decades, and even if I have no grand achievements, I have worked hard! How can the Sect be so heartless!"

"The Sect is heartless?"

Su Qinghan looked at him coldly.

"Zhao Feng's target is not you at all; you are just an ant that can be crushed to death at any time!"

"His target is me!"

Su Qinghan's fingernails dug deeply into her palms, fresh blood dripping onto the stone table.

"As long as the Outer Sect Herb Garden is rated as inferior and you are banished to the Heifeng Mine, I, as a nominal in-law, will be reassigned by the Sect!"

"By then, as long as Zhao Feng pulls some strings, he can legitimately get me into his Immortal Cave!"

With a clang, Su Qinghan pulled out the long sword at her waist, its Sword Qi chillingly sharp.

In her pretty phoenix eyes, at this moment, there was only a resolute will to die.

"Even if I, Su Qinghan, die, even if I break my own Meridians, even if I betray the Sect and am hunted down and killed by the Law Enforcement Hall, I will never let that beast touch a single finger of mine!"

"On the day of the assessment, I will directly go and fight Zhao Feng to the death! If I can bite a piece of flesh off him, I won't have lived in vain!"

Looking at Su Qinghan's appearance of rather shattering jade than remaining unbroken tile, on the surface Qi Yang was still trembling as he persuaded the Fairy to think twice, but in his heart, monstrous killing intent had already surged!

Zhao Feng!

What the hell are you!

This old man has stayed low in this lousy Outer Sect Herb Garden without fighting or competing, living like an invisible person for nearly a hundred years.

This old man has managed to accumulate a garden full of top-grade Spirit Medicine with great difficulty, built an underground secret room with great difficulty, and finally seen the hope of Foundation Establishment!

With a single fucking word, you want to overturn this old man's nest?

And cut off this old man's path to longevity?!

This is a mortal feud!

An irreconcilable mortal feud!

In Qi Yang's lowered eyes, the killing intent rolled like substance.

The Dao of staying low was to live longer and to accumulate strength.

But staying low was definitely not being a hypocritical wimp! It was not letting someone shit on your neck and still smiling while saying it tasted good!

Whoever dared to cut off his path to longevity, he would send to the Yellow Springs!

"Qi Condensation 8th Layer, Three-element Profound Spiritual Root."

Qi Yang quickly sorted out Zhao Feng's intelligence in his mind.

Zhao Feng's Cultivation Technique was not weak. In a head-on collision, even if Qi Yang exhausted all his trump cards, his chance of winning was less than thirty percent.

Furthermore, once a battle of this scale broke out within the Sect, the Law Enforcement Hall would definitely intervene immediately, and by then all of Qi Yang's secrets would be exposed.

"We cannot fight head-on; we must outsmart him."

"We must use the safest and most traceless method to kill him!"

Qi Yang's brain spun rapidly.

Zhao Feng cultivated a wood-attribute Cultivation Technique and had been stuck at the Peak of the Qi Condensation 8th Layer for a long time. He urgently needed high-quality wood-attribute Spirit Medicine to break through the Bottleneck and charge into the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

This was his most fatal weakness!

Greed!

"You want wood-attribute Spirit Medicine, right?"

"This old man will prepare a big gift for you, guaranteed to leave not even your bone scraps after you eat it!"

Late at night, in the underground secret room.

Qi Yang's gaze was icy cold, his hands forming hand seals before the purple copper alchemical furnace like butterflies weaving through flowers.

On the bronze stone platform lay a vine that was pitch black all over, its surface covered with eerie purple patterns.

illusion heart demon vine!

This was a rare first-grade top-tier poisonous herb.

Its toxicity was very special; it did not corrode the Physical Body, nor did it destroy the spiritual power, but directly acted on the Cultivator's mind and Soul!

Once its Spiritual Qi was absorbed, the Cultivator would unknowingly fall into an endless illusion, triggering the deepest Heart Demon, and ultimately dying from Qi Deviation and chaotic spiritual power!

However, the appearance of the illusion heart demon vine was too eye-catching; anyone who knew a little pharmacology could recognize it at a glance.

What Qi Yang had to do now was use his hundred years of pharmacological knowledge combined with the Heaven-Defying efficacy of the black gourd to put a perfect coat on this poisonous herb.

He threw the illusion heart demon vine into the Pill Furnace, slowly baking it at a very low temperature while adding several auxiliary herbs that could change its color and scent.

Half an hour later, the furnace lid was lifted.

The originally pitch-black and eerie illusion heart demon vine had now turned into a vine that was emerald green all over, exuding a dense wood-attribute Spiritual Qi and vibrant vitality!

qingmu vine!

This was a supreme treasure dreamed of by wood-attribute Cultivators!

"Perfect."

Qi Yang carefully examined the "qingmu vine" in his hand, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

Except for him, the refiner, even if a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator did not carefully probe the internal structure with spiritual sense, they would definitely not be able to see any flaws!

Two days later.

The Ghost Market a hundred miles away from the Xuantian Sect.

Thick fog shrouded the area, and Yin Qi was chilling.

Qi Yang once again transformed into the evil Cultivator Daoist Mu, wearing a large black robe, a sinister human skin mask, and emitting a faint smell of rotting corpses.

He did not set up a stall, but walked straight to the stall of a black market merchant who specialized in acquiring high-tier Spirit Medicine.

This merchant was precisely the channel for disposing of stolen goods that Zhao Feng usually liked to patronize.

"Shopkeeper, buying goods?"

Qi Yang deliberately lowered his voice, making it hoarse and harsh.

The merchant raised his head, his eyes astute.

"That depends on what good stuff you have in your hands."

Qi Yang sneered, sliding a jade box out of his sleeve and opening it just a crack.

Boom!

A pure and extremely dense wood-attribute Spiritual Qi slowly overflowed, dispersing even the surrounding thick fog by a fraction.

The merchant's eyes immediately widened into round circles, sucking in a breath of cold air.

"First-grade top-tier... qingmu vine?!"

"Consider you knowledgeable."

With a slap, Qi Yang closed the jade box, his tone arrogant.

"This old man urgently needs a batch of Thunder Fire Talismans. This qingmu vine will only be exchanged for five hundred sheets of first-grade middle-tier Thunder Fire Talismans. I won't sell it for even one sheet less!"

The merchant swallowed a mouthful of saliva, looking troubled: "Senior, although this qingmu vine is precious, five hundred Thunder Fire Talismans is too large a quantity. My small stall cannot gather them all at once."

"Cannot gather them? Then this old man will go find someone else."

Qi Yang turned around and left without the slightest hesitation.

"Senior, stay your steps! Stay your steps!"

The merchant grew anxious. This was a rare, top-grade Spirit Medicine that could be flipped for a huge profit.

"Senior, give me three days! Within three days, I will definitely gather them!"

Qi Yang stopped in his tracks and coldly tossed down a sentence.

"This old man will only wait for you three days."

After speaking, Qi Yang's figure melted into the thick fog and disappeared.

Qi Yang calculated that this black market merchant absolutely could not produce five hundred Thunder Fire Talismans; his only choice would be to immediately contact his wealthy major patrons.

And Zhao Feng, who urgently needed wood-attribute Spirit Medicine to break through, would definitely receive the news at the very first moment!