Chapter 232: Palace Sect Leader La's Hatred

She hurriedly left Lu Xinghe, stumbling and throwing herself in front of the Mo Dao bandit. She pushed his body hard, calling out, "Black Dragon, Black Dragon..."

As she pushed, she realized his eyes were clouded, filled with intense unwillingness. The wound on his neck was covered by a layer of dried blood. There was blood all over beneath him. But he was already stone cold.

She instantly lost herself, then immediately scrambled towards the bodies of the three other Foundation Establishment Stage Level Seven bandits. "Iron Head!" "Broken Hand!!" She rushed to check every single one, hoping to save at least one of her brothers. But without exception, they were all dead. They had died cleanly and swiftly, each killed with a single sword stroke, leaving them no chance of survival.

"What happened?" "Who can tell me what happened?" "Why are all my brothers dead?" With tears in her eyes, Black Lotus roared to the sky. Her rough voice echoed through the silent, dead forest, filled with her fallen brothers, sounding particularly eerie.

Lu Xinghe glanced at the gruesome scene and swallowed hard. While Black Lotus was distracted, he quietly shifted his body, preparing to escape. But as soon as he moved, the sound of his footsteps caught Black Lotus's attention. Bang—

Lu Xinghe felt a blur before his eyes, then a punch landed on his chest, nearly cracking his ribs. Immediately after, Black Lotus's hand clamped tightly around his neck. "How did they die? Speak!!!" Black Lotus roared, as if losing her mind.

Lu Xinghe's face turned beet red as he struggled to say, "How... how would I... know..." Black Lotus violently threw him to the ground, then stepped on his chest. With terrifying murderous intent, she roared, "Is there a master hidden in your group? Otherwise, my battle-hardened brothers wouldn't have been killed so quickly!" She correctly deduced that there was a master among them.

Lu Xinghe, however, said, "No! I swear, it wasn't done by anyone in our group. My junior sister, Qin Caihe, only has Foundation Establishment Stage Level Five cultivation. The Taishang Sect disciple, Chu Xingmeng, also only has Foundation Establishment Stage Level Five cultivation. As for Qingyun Sect disciple Jiang Fan, he doesn't even have a spirit root; he probably hasn't even reached the Foundation Establishment Stage. The one who killed your brothers must have been a passing master."

Seeing his solemn oath, he didn't seem to be lying. Black Lotus couldn't help but doubt her own deduction. Could it really have been a passing master? But on second thought, setting aside the coincidence of this master's arrival, Jiang Fan, the two female disciples, three carriages, and a spirit beast had all vanished, which indicated that her brothers' deaths were undeniably linked to them.

"Regardless of whether there's a master hidden in your group!" Black Lotus said ferociously. "Take me to them immediately! If you can't find them, I'll gouge out your eyes and cut out your tongue!"

Now, about Jiang Fan. He traveled without stopping, taking half a day to finally cross the mountain range and enter the territory of the Spirit Beast Sect. Leaving the oppressive, dark forest, he gazed upon the endless grassland. Both women felt a sense of relief, as if they had escaped a great danger.

"Oh! There's a caravan coming towards us up ahead." Chu Xingmeng, with her sharp eyes, suddenly spotted a mighty procession of beast-drawn carriages at the edge of the grassland, heading towards the mountain range where they were. Hearing this, Qin Caihe immediately drew her long sword, focusing and standing guard. Chu Xingmeng also adopted a defensive stance. As for Jiang Fan, after a brief thought, he said, "No need to panic, this is most likely people from the Spirit Beast Sect." Spirit beasts were rare in the lands of the Nine Sects. For example, the Qingyun Sect didn't even have a single spirit beast. Only the Spirit Beast Sect could put together an entire team of spirit beasts.

Sure enough, as the caravan approached, a group of women in flowing, colorful robes, vibrant and adorned, came into view, riding spirit beasts. Their attire was indeed that of the Spirit Beast Sect.

"Who are you?" On the back of the leading spirit beast was a slightly older female disciple. She gazed at them with wary eyes. Jiang Fan and the others took out their identity tokens. "Qin Caihe of the Myriad Sword Gate." "Chu Xingmeng of the Taishang Sect." Only upon learning they were Nine Sects disciples did she relax her guard, glancing at the three carriages behind them. She seemed to understand what they were doing. A gentle expression appeared on her face as she said, "I am Zhang Xuemou of the Spirit Beast Sect, and like you, I am also on a mission." Hearing the name Zhang Xuemou, Qin Caihe and Chu Xingmeng quickly dismounted. They stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Senior Sister Zhang."

Jiang Fan was surprised. Was this Zhang Xuemou very famous? Why were the two women so respectful of her? Jiang Fan, still seated on horseback and diligently guarding the carriages, naturally caught Zhang Xuemou's attention.

"Are you from the Qingyun Sect?" Jiang Fan cupped his hands and replied, "I am Jiang Fan of the Qingyun Sect. Greetings, Senior Sister Zhang." As soon as his name was spoken, Zhang Xuemou showed a look of surprise: "You are Jiang Fan?" The six female disciples in colorful, flowing robes behind her immediately perked up, standing in unison. They curiously scrutinized Jiang Fan, chattering amongst themselves. "So that's Jiang Fan of the Qingyun Sect?" "We actually got to see him in person today!" "He's quite fair-skinned and even more radiant than us. No wonder the Sect Leader can't stop thinking about him and always mentions his name." "Exactly, who wouldn't be smitten by such a handsome young master?"

Uh— Qin Caihe and Chu Xingmeng were stunned. Especially the latter. She only knew Jiang Fan was extremely powerful, but it never occurred to her that he was so famous within the Spirit Beast Sect! Moreover, he seemed very popular with the female disciples. It was important to know that the Spirit Beast Sect consisted entirely of female disciples. They naturally repelled male disciples, and it was extremely rare for a male disciple to earn their unanimous favor.

"Don't be rude!" Zhang Xuemou lightly rebuked them, stopping the chattering disciples. Then, staring at Jiang Fan, she said coolly: "Junior Brother Jiang, you are highly favored by my master; you must possess extraordinary skills, right? The mission you're undertaking must surely be at least a Level Two mission, just like mine."

As Gong Caiyi's disciple, she understood better than disciples from other peaks just how highly Gong Caiyi praised Jiang Fan. Ever since returning, her master would constantly mention Jiang Fan's virtues. When teaching cultivation techniques, she would mention Jiang Fan's qualities, saying if her disciples had half of Jiang Fan's comprehension, she would have an easier time. When teaching sword arts, she would lament Jiang Fan's profound mastery, saying none of her disciples could compare. When spending vast sums of money to buy spiritual medicines, she would lament that none of her disciples were as capable as Jiang Fan at refining their own spiritual medicines. In short, for the past month, Jiang Fan's name had almost worn a callus in her ears! What was even more frustrating for her and her fellow disciples was that, in Gong Caiyi's mouth, they were utterly worthless compared to Jiang Fan.

Now, finally seeing Jiang Fan in person, how could Zhang Xuemou possibly have a good attitude? How could she not want to compare herself to him? She wanted to see how she, a contemporary prodigy at Foundation Establishment Stage Level Nine, could be inferior to Jiang Fan! If she didn't settle this today, she wasn't planning on letting Jiang Fan leave.

Jiang Fan detected the dissatisfaction in her words and felt utterly bewildered. This was his first time in the Spirit Beast Sect; he hadn't provoked anyone, had he? To avoid conflict, he humbly replied, "Sect Leader Gong praises me too highly. My aptitude is ordinary; I can't undertake Level Two missions like Senior Sister."

"Ordinary aptitude?" Chu Xingmeng swayed, nearly falling to the ground. If your aptitude is ordinary, then there are very few people with good aptitude in the entire world.

Zhang Xuemou snorted, "No need for false modesty. Although my master appears gentle, she is proud to the bone and rarely praises anyone. For her to constantly talk about you, you must have an extraordinary quality. Tell me, what kind of mission are you undertaking? Let's compare."

Jiang Fan muttered to himself in his mind. Gong Caiyi, oh, Gong Caiyi! Why do you keep mentioning me for no reason?