124: Chapter 124 Don't Let Socially Awkward People Give Speeches

Aside from this little interlude, the meeting at Ziping Cave finally concluded after three days.

Xie Feng didn't understand what they were talking about most of the time; he just felt that the food at Ziping Cave was really good.

Finally, after the Qingzhou Sect assembly concluded, amidst the Ziping Cave Disciples' looks reserved for stray dogs, Xie Feng boarded the flying boat with a large bag of desserts from Ziping Cave.

The flying boat slowly ascended into the sky, and that pale purple lake of Ziping Cave gradually shrank into a tiny speck of light in the porthole, eventually swallowed by the clouds.

Xie Feng leaned against the edge of the porthole, his whole body sinking into the unique sense of relaxation that comes after winning a major victory.

Sect Master Shen Du sat opposite him, took a letter from his bosom, and handed it over casually: "A private letter from the royal Family, which just arrived before the flying boat took off."

Xie Feng took it.

The envelope was made of very ordinary mulberry paper, with no imperial seal at the opening, just wrapped three times with extremely fine hemp twine and tied with a simple slipknot.

He unpacked it, and the letter paper inside wasn't the kind of gold-stamped stationery commonly used in the palace, but rather very plain white cotton paper.

The handwriting was neat and upright, written personally by Emperor Zhou Weixi.

"Seeing these words is like seeing me. Last time in Hanxuan Pavilion, you poured half a pot of good tea down my throat, and I've remembered it until now. The Imperial Tea House has newly arrived with a batch of this year's autumn tea, and I've saved two taels for you. When the matters of the Extreme North Continent are settled, come back and drink tea."

Xie Feng smiled slightly and continued reading downward.

"The route for the Extreme North Continent expeditionary force has been replanned.

This expedition is directly organized by the royal Family. It will not take trade routes or old post roads, setting off from Qingzhou by flying boat, heading east through Yanzhou, passing Jizhou, and entering Yongzhou.

Yongzhou is the last major prefecture in the northwest of the Nine Provinces. Leaving the borders of Yongzhou brings one to the Northern Wilderness. The flying boat will land at the edge of the Northern Wilderness, and you will walk across the tundra to enter the Extreme North Continent.

The prefectural governments along the way have received official dispatches from the Ministry of War. The Governor of Yanzhou will prepare supplies for you, Jizhou's post station system will provide support throughout the journey, and the Yongzhou Protectorate has already sent scouts familiar with the terrain of the Northern Wilderness to scout the path ahead.

We will set off in half a year.

Third Princess is already making preparations, and she is taking this more to heart than anyone else."

Prediction? You predicted my ass! You definitely went to the backyard to ask The King in Yellow!

Seeing this, Xie Feng tapped his finger lightly on the letter paper.

Third Princess is making preparations, which shows that the royal Family has officially included the Extreme North Continent expedition into the joint scheduling system of the Directorate of Military Weapons and the Ministry of War, and it is no longer her personal adventure.

"There is another matter: I received a spiritual transmission from Minister Zuo, who blocked a lot of trouble for you over in Qingzhou. After Lv Xu of the Tianque Sect returned to Qingzhou, he submitted three consecutive memorials impeaching your words and actions at Ziping Cave. Those memorials were withheld by Minister Zuo, and not a single one was sent to the Cabinet.

Minister Zuo says you owe him a meal of wine.

The formal conscription order will be issued by the Ministry of War subsequently, and when the time comes, the Qingyun Sect will naturally be notified.

The road is long and the weather is cold, take care of your health."

The signature was Emperor Zhou Weixi, without an imperial seal, and below the name, a very small willow leaf was drawn with an extremely fine ink brush.

Xie Feng folded the letter paper and stuffed it back into the envelope. The willow leaf was probably Emperor Zhou Weixi's private mark.

Then he started chatting idly with the Sect Master. According to recent timelines, the recruitment of new Disciples was also gradually coming to an end.

Sect Master Shen Du was still considering who to appoint as the new outer Sect Elder.

Xie Feng suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

An outer Sect Elder...

Pu Huai's whereabouts remained unknown to this day.

His figure was not seen during the imperial city incident, there was no movement from the Chiwu Sect either, and from beginning to end at the Qingzhou Sect assembly, no one ever mentioned Pu Huai or the Incarnation of Nyarlathotep.

It was too quiet.

Nyarlathotep wouldn't really quiet down; the Thousand-Faced God doesn't have the concept of "calling it quits."

It will only pick a time when you are most relaxed, use a way you completely wouldn't expect, and brew up something big for you.

Half a year later he was going to set off for the Extreme North Continent, and if Nyarlathotep hadn't made a move during this period, it would most likely be waiting for him in the Extreme North Continent.

Won't it brew up some thunderous, explosive, hardcore stunt for me by then?

Forget it, if Nyarlathotep wants to backstab someone, guarding against it is impossible anyway; at worst, it's just death.

Xie Feng ultimately chose to set his heart at ease.

Uh... set a fireball in his stomach.

Then he would return to the Sect and fiercely Cultivate a wave of Spells from the three forbidden books, lest he go crazy again by then.

Brain Matter suddenly poked half its body out from Xie Feng's forehead.

"Holy crap! Can you give a warning next time you come out? Do you know how terrifying it is when a pigeon-sized bug suddenly darts out from your own forehead?!"

Brain Matter curled its three mouths in disdain.

"What are you doing? How graceful is my appearance? This is the appearance of the Universe's rhythm!"

"Do you look even slightly like a human?"

"You humans are the terrifying ones, alright?"

"I'm all ears?"

"A large chunk of raw meat mixed with a pair of writhing, rhythmic flesh, plus messy minced food and blood plasma flowing as you run—you guys are much uglier than us!"

This was an angle Xie Feng had never considered before. After thinking about it, it really was true, and he couldn't help but nod.

Sect Master Shen Du, who was at the side, suddenly leaned his head over, and Brain Matter quickly and hastily retracted back into the mind.

"Just now, there seemed to be a weird aura?"

"An illusion, Sect Master. Maybe there were some bugs?"

"Hmm, that shouldn't be? Is my eighth-realm cultivation fake?"

"Maybe when you get older, everything feels a bit beyond your abilities?"

Sect Master Shen Du slammed a punch onto the top of Xie Feng's head.

"Ouch!"

"That'll teach you to have a sharp tongue! Do you even know what your current status is?"

"What status do I have? Aren't I just a city-destroying lunatic in other people's eyes?"

"Following Your Majesty's imperial decree, you are now the top Prodigy among the younger generation with outstanding cultivation and the highest status. Various Sects have long spread your portraits and deeds everywhere."

Xie Feng suddenly blushed a little, twisting his body in a way that was both coy and disgusting.

"Oh my, am I really that awesome?"

Sect Master Shen Du landed another punch!

"What are you doing! You hit me right after praising me!?"

"What do you know! This means you will be targeted by the younger generation and old fogies like us. Although they won't make a move against you, apart from our own people, who wouldn't be curious about the fortuitous encounters on you?"

Is even this kind of fortuitous encounter something to be curious about? Come, come, come, whoever is curious, I'll hand it right over to them.

Of course, Xie Feng didn't dare say these words in front of Sect Master Shen Du, so he could only swallow them back into his stomach.

"Now, major Cultivators all suspect that you can communicate malice through some method and use the abilities of these terrifying lifeforms."

"Ah, there's no need to doubt that; that's actually true."

Sect Master Shen Du closed his eyes, feeling somewhat exhausted.

"What I mean is you can use it, but after you leave the Sect, you cannot admit to using it when you do, understand?"

"Got it, I'll just say it's a secret technique of the Sect that is not passed on externally?"

"You're quite teachable."

Amidst the idle banter, the two slowly landed back at the Qingyun Sect. Indeed, there were many new faces within the Qingyun Sect, mostly new Disciples and Family Loose Cultivators continuously recruited from outside in recent days.

Next, Sect Master Shen Du had to hold a welcome party without stopping.

Xie Feng curiously pulled at the Sect Master.

"There's some differential treatment here; why didn't I have this kind of treatment back then?"

"What nonsense are you babbling? They happen every year, it's just that you didn't go out back then, did you?"

"It's nothing, Sect Master. You go ahead."

Sect Master Shen Du grabbed Xie Feng by the collar and flew toward the Martial Arts Arena.

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about? As one of the Inner Sect Disciple representatives, you have to give a speech too!"

Xie Feng wailed mid-air.

"I have social anxiety!"