23: Chapter 23 Gathering

The flying boat was extremely fast; it was said that it could travel three thousand li in a single hour, yet sitting inside, it was exceptionally quiet.

Less than an hour later, the flying boat landed in a wide, open space outside the city of Guiping County.

Once Yu Xiu and the others disembarked, the ferryman piloting the flying boat departed again.

"That Yin Demon is in Lushui Town, thirty li outside the city." Zhao Zheng identified the direction and said, "Head this way."

"That ferryman didn't even know to land a bit closer," the thin-faced Ruan Fei complained.

"It's only thirty li; we'll be there soon enough." Qin Shu smiled, appearing somewhat more relaxed.

Far from the Inner Courtyard and outside Wuyang Prefecture, where the Qingwei Sword Sect was located, no one would care even if Yu Xiu died a hundred times over.

Although there were people from the Qingwei Sword Sect stationed in the county city, who would even recognize Yu Xiu?

He subconsciously looked at Yu Xiu and found that Yu Xiu was observing the nearby county city, watching the people coming and going with eyes full of curiosity.

'Take a good look while you can!' Qin Shu shook his head inwardly.

This was likely the last time Yu Xiu would ever see the lands outside Wuyang Prefecture.

Fang Jiming and the others had already gathered in Lushui Town, having waited for Yu Xiu for a long time.

When the time came, Fang Jiming and the others wouldn't even need to make a move; as long as Yu Xiu was left alone before that Yin Demon, Fang Jiming and the others wouldn't even need to show themselves, and Yu Xiu would die at the hands of the Yin Demon on his own.

Everything was already arranged; they were simply waiting for Yu Xiu to enter the net.

They headed east. Although they had no horses or exotic beasts for transport, nor did they specifically use lightness techniques, they still traveled at great speed, covering the thirty li in just half an hour.

This was even with them intentionally slowing their pace, fearing that Yu Xiu's strength was insufficient to keep up.

Yet they did not know that Yu Xiu had 'Riding the Wind' upon him, making his body as light as a feather. Even just walking like an ordinary person, he possessed a speed far exceeding the full-speed sprint of those in the Qi Sea Realm.

They had slowed their pace, yet Yu Xiu was holding back his strength even while walking normally.

Upon arriving at Lushui Town, they saw that the entire town was exceptionally desolate. In broad daylight, there were no pedestrians on the road; it was unusually bleak.

"Hmm? Why is the unique demonic aura of the Yin Demon not visible?" Zhao Zheng frowned after looking around.

The Yin Demon was the most conspicuous, because its demonic aura was like a torch lit in the dark night to a cultivator's eyes, but in this small town, no such demonic aura could be seen.

"It must be a naturally born Yin Demon. This type of Yin Demon is born in places of filth and yin between heaven and earth, but it knows how to hide itself." Qin Shu was not concerned in the slightest and flipped his hand to take out an object.

It was a fist-sized bead, transparent throughout. This object was called the 'Demon-Seeking Bead' and was refined specifically for locating Yin Demons.

Qin Shu said, "Let me find it."

He poured his True Qi into the Demon-Seeking Bead, and the 'Demon-Seeking Bead' began to glow with a faint light. Visible to the naked eye, wisps of aura emerged in the air, converging and spreading over an increasingly wider area.

Qin Shu stepped into the desolate town and walked forward. Finally, near the eastern edge of the town, the Demon-Seeking Bead reacted, drawing a wisp of pitch-black demonic aura from the air.

That demonic aura was hidden without a trace; if not for the power of the Demon-Seeking Bead, it would have been impossible to see with the naked eye.

"Found it." Qin Shu's eyes lit up.

The Demon-Seeking Bead began to shimmer, and the wisp of demonic aura it had just absorbed seemed to transform into a faint, black thread, constantly extending further east.

"It's over there." Zhao Zheng's expression became excited.

At the same moment, Zhao Zheng and Ruan Fei exchanged glances without leaving a trace.

Then they heard Ruan Fei say, "Since we have found the traces of the Yin Demon, and with Senior Brother Qin making a move, this Yin Demon is already as good as dead. I will go to the county government office to find our fellow disciples to hand over the mission, and I will join you all later."

Once the mission was completed and the local county government office was notified, the members of the Qingwei Sword Sect stationed there would coordinate with the Main Sect to confirm that the Yin Demon had been eliminated and the mission was over. This was the normal procedure, but Ruan Fei had advanced this process.

But it was also justifiable; after all, Qin Shu was already an expert in the Life Spring Realm. Killing a Qi Sea Realm Yin Demon should be as easy as reaching out and grabbing it.

"Go ahead." Qin Shu nodded, but as he lowered his head, a flash of intense heat appeared in his eyes.

It was almost time. Once the Yin Demon killed Yu Xiu, Fang Jiming would deliver the Dry Gold Grass to him!

His "Gold Entanglement Sword" would also reach Major Achievement, or even Perfection.

The slightly chubby Zhang Yun rarely took the initiative to chat with Yu Xiu: "Brother Yu, this is your first time out to subdue demons. Would you like to try out your demon-subduing techniques?"

"When we go out to subdue demons, although we all seek protection from our Senior Brothers, the main purpose is still to temper our own demon-subduing techniques and hone the power of our sword arts. Only in this way can we grow and be able to stand on our own in the future."

Qin Shu's eyes flickered, and he smiled: "If Brother Yu is willing to try, I can provide cover from the side. Although it might be a bit troublesome, if it can help Brother Yu grow, it is worth it."

Zhao Zheng added, "I can also provide cover for Brother Yu to ensure Brother Yu is not injured."

'Are you so impatient for me to go and die?' Yu Xiu understood clearly in his heart, but he still appeared overjoyed: "In that case, I must thank you, Senior Brothers and Senior Sister, for your guidance."

Qin Shu felt assured, 'This Yu Xiu's death date has arrived.'

He dragged the Demon-Seeking Bead along in front: "Follow me."

Ruan Fei had already left a step ahead, leaving Zhao Zheng, Yu Xiu, and Zhang Yun to follow closely behind Qin Shu, constantly heading east.

On the other side, after Ruan Fei left the small town, he saw a special mark, so he followed the mark all the way, quickly circling to the south side of the town, where he saw the people who had been waiting for a long time.

"Senior Brother Fang, the person has arrived." Ruan Fei cupped his hands in a salute; when facing Fang Jiming, he was obviously somewhat restrained.

Yu Xiu didn't know, but he knew that this Fang Jiming had already broken through the fourth stage of the Ascending Dragon Realm, the Life Spring, and had stepped into the first of the Great Four Passes, the Five Viscera Realm, a great expert of the Inner Courtyard.

He only lacked some eye-catching achievements to be fully promoted to the Main Sect and leave the Inner Courtyard.

In the entire Inner Courtyard, there would be no one stronger than Fang Jiming.

Before this, Fang Jiming was also the head of the Inner Courtyard's Fengxiang Association, but it was only due to the repercussions of Fang Jiming breaking through realms using evil methods that he stepped down as the head.

Fang Jiming, whose face was deathly pale, wore a white robe and carried a precious sword on his back. He looked quietly at Ruan Fei, then looked up towards the east of the town. One could see his chest heaving.

'Finally, has this day arrived?!'

Behind Fang Jiming were Song Yue and Yuan Shu, who were also members of the Fengxiang Association, as well as Zhong Yue and Pang Wei, who had threatened Yu Xiu outside the Internal Affairs Hall.

Reasonably speaking, they should not have all come for Yu Xiu, who had only just entered the Inner Courtyard for about two months and was only at the first layer of the Qi Sea Realm.

But they had waited for this day for a full year, so how could they not come?

"This Yu Xiu caused us so much misery back then. A year has passed; today, I want to see how he dies!" The tall and sturdy Pang Wei grinned and sneered.

"A brat at the first layer of the Qi Sea Realm, to be valued by us like this, he can die without regrets!" Zhong Yue chuckled, inexplicably feeling in a great mood.

"Let's go, follow them and see how that Yu Xiu dies at the hands of the Yin Demon." Fang Jiming slowly clenched his fists, then released them.

Eastern edge of the town.

Yu Xiu and the others stopped in front of a low, thatched cottage.

"It is inside here."

"Brother Yu, use your demon-subduing techniques." Zhang Yun puffed out her slightly chubby cheeks, cheering Yu Xiu on.

"We will provide cover for you." Zhao Zheng and Qin Shu looked at Yu Xiu in unison: "This is for your own good."

'For my own good.' Yu Xiu smiled inwardly: "Alright."

He strode into the thatched cottage and disappeared from their sight.