67: Chapter 67 Harvest

Ye Jing held this Storage Pouch and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he could easily open it; this trip hadn't been in vain.

As a cultivator, Old Man Hongsha surely had many treasures hidden in his pouch.

He thought back to what Old Man Hongsha had said earlier about being only a Branch Elder; it seemed the Red Lotus Cult was even more massive than they had imagined.

Ye Jing first put the items he had scavenged from Old Man Hongsha into his waist pouch, then his eyes darted around as he patted Hei Feng and said, "Go find Young Master Zhao and the others and bring them here!"

Hei Feng gave an obedient cry and then sped off into the forest.

"Xiao Chi, Xiao Yu, find a place to hide!" Ye Jing couldn't let them discover that he had Essence Spirits by his side, though he could admit to killing these people from the Red Lotus Cult.

As for the bell at his waist, since it was a broken Magical Artifact, Ye Jing naturally took it for himself as well.

He placed it inside the Immortal Willow to wait for it to be slowly repaired.

When Hei Feng returned with the Martial Artists who were searching the mountain ridges, Ye Jing simply stated that he had gone to great lengths to kill these Red Lotus cultists.

He hadn't spared a single one, including their leader.

This left everyone present clicking their tongues in amazement.

Especially Zhao Yuanyi and Guo Zhengning.

"Elder Ye is incredible! These people from the Red Lotus Cult were Immortals!"

"Pah! What Immortal? He was a Demon, it's good he's dead!"

"Great! The Red Lotus Cult people are finally dealt with! We don't have to live in fear anymore!"

"This is all thanks to Elder Ye! He's too powerful!"

The people around looked at Ye Jing with faces full of adoration, nearly ready to worship him as an Immortal as well.

Looking at Old Man Hongsha's mangled corpse, Zhao Yuanyi gave Patriarch Ye a meaningful look before smiling slightly. "Patriarch Ye, you are truly vigorous for your age! I am impressed!"

"I don't deserve such praise! I only won by a narrow margin," Ye Jing said with a smile and a cupped-hand salute. "It was also thanks to everyone's assistance in heavily wounding this leader that I was able to find an opening!"

His polite words made Zhao Yuanyi, Guo Zhengning, and the others laugh.

The crowd escorted Ye Jing down the mountain, with the Martial Artists in particular offering endless praise for his feat of killing an Immortal.

Back in the village, the villagers were extremely excited when they saw them carrying down Old Man Hongsha from the Red Lotus Cult; after living in fear for so long, the bandit was finally dealt with!

To thank the Ye family and the Martial Artists for their help, all the villagers brought out their home-grown vegetables, meat, and other supplies to hold a grand feast.

Ye Jing, who had killed Old Man Hongsha of the Red Lotus Cult, sat in the seat of honor, while Guo Zhengning, Zhao Yuanyi, and Ye Jing's two sons sat in the secondary seats.

During the feast, everyone toasted Ye Jing repeatedly, praising him to the high heavens.

Ye Jing's alcohol tolerance was already high, and he deliberately stayed somewhat sober; he noticed that Zhao Yuanyi's gaze throughout the meal always held a hint of scrutiny, likely harboring some doubts about his ability to kill the Red Lotus leader alone.

Halfway through the feast, Zhao Yuanyi made an excuse to leave and gave Ye Jing a look, signaling for him to follow because he had something to say.

Beneath the old willow in the village, tender green branches hung down.

Fanning himself, Zhao Yuanyi got straight to the point: "Patriarch Ye, have you already begun practicing Immortal Arts?"

Ye Jing was taken aback, thinking to himself: Zhao Yuanyi couldn't possibly think I've become a cultivator just because I killed one, could he?

He smiled bitterly and said helplessly, "Young Master Zhao, if I had mastered Immortal Methods, why would I have gone to such trouble to discuss ambushing the Red Lotus Cult with all of you?"

The suspicion in Zhao Yuanyi's eyes didn't vanish, but he quickly masked it with a smile. "Patriarch Ye, perhaps I'm overthinking it."

Seeing that he had dropped the subject, Ye Jing didn't say much more; seeing no one else around, he told Zhao Yuanyi the information he had heard from Old Man Hongsha today.

It also served to change the subject.

"By the way, when I was fighting the Red Lotus Cult leader earlier, I heard him mention that he's only a Branch Elder. He also has a Grand Altar Master who supposedly has a Qi Refining Level 5 cultivation and is in contact with a Great Chieftain from Longhu Mountain."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuanyi's usually calm and composed expression cracked. "Patriarch Ye! Is what you're saying true?"

Ye Jing nodded. "Absolutely certain. This Elder said he was at Qi Refining Level 2, so this Qi Refining Level 5..."

"Patriarch Ye, say no more." Zhao Yuanyi interrupted Ye Jing, his expression exceptionally grave, with even a hint of fear in his eyes.

Seeing Zhao Yuanyi's intense reaction, Ye Jing knew that this Qi Refining Level 5 Grand Altar Master was definitely no ordinary person.

Zhao Yuanyi took a deep breath, looked around, and quickly lowered his voice: "Patriarch Ye, this is not something we can handle. I will report this to Your Majesty overnight and have him send people to deal with the Red Lotus Cult and Longhu Mountain!"

Seeing that he had even brought up the Emperor, Ye Jing knew this matter was of great importance and didn't say anything more.

Zhao Yuanyi hurriedly turned and left, not even returning to the feast, clearly intending to immediately arrange for messengers to send the news to the Capital.

Ye Jing stood alone under the old willow tree. The night breeze blew gently, and the tender green willow leaves swayed slightly, yet it couldn't blow away the irritation in his heart.

He had finally dealt with this Red Lotus Cult Elder, only for a Qi Refining Level 5 Grand Altar Master and a colluding Great Chieftain of Longhu Mountain to emerge.

This world truly wouldn't give him a moment's respite.

Returning to the feast, everyone was still excitedly discussing Ye Jing's achievement in slaying the Red Lotus cultists, their words filled with praise for him.

Seeing that his father looked a bit unwell upon his return, Ye Xuan walked over and asked concernedly, "Father, what's wrong?"

Ye Jing composed himself and shook his head with a smile. "It's nothing. I was just thinking about how to guard against the remaining Red Lotus Cult remnants who haven't been caught yet."

He didn't reveal the news about the Qi Refining Level 5 Grand Altar Master to avoid causing panic and unnecessary trouble.

Hearing this, Ye Xuan also became serious. "You're right, Father. Since the Red Lotus Cult was scattered by us, they've all fled toward the Qinling Mountains. In the future, I'll send more people to patrol around the village to put everyone's minds at ease."

The feast didn't end until late at night. The villagers returned home having enjoyed themselves thoroughly, their faces full of relief after escaping danger.

Even Inspector Li Kun of Yuanhe Town brought the townsfolk to express their gratitude to Ye Jing.

After Ye Jing saw off the Martial Artists from the county seat, he returned home with his two sons.

After returning to his room, Ye Jing finally breathed a sigh of relief and laid out the items he had scavenged today on the table.

As for the broken black bell fragments, the Immortal Willow identified it as merely a Spiritual Artifact with a bit of Spiritual Qi, not even having a rank.

But it could control Corpse People, so perhaps it was a decent Spiritual Artifact; he would learn more about its uses later.

The thing that caught Ye Jing's attention the most was that red Storage Pouch.

He picked up the Storage Pouch and opened it with a slight exertion of force.

A faint scent of Blood Qi wafted out. This small bag was magical; he reached inside and rummaged around, finding that the space within was quite large.

Ye Jing felt two books: one titled "Qi Induction Mantra" and the other "Corpse Puppet Refining." These were followed by some silver pieces and translucent jade stones.

"Corpse Puppet Refining" was clearly about refining corpses to serve as Puppets.

Among these items, what Ye Jing noticed most was the book called "Qi Induction Mantra." He opened it and was immediately drawn to a line of text on the first page.

"Draw Spiritual Qi into the body, temper the Physical Body, and establish the Foundation for Immortal Cultivation."