Chapter 279: Taking the Backdoor

Spiritual energy surged beneath his feet as he pushed his movement technique to its limit, rushing forward at top speed. He wrapped an arm around her waist, sweeping her away!

But it was still a fraction too late. Qin Caihe's finger had already made contact with the feather.

Instantly, a finger-thick streak of azure lightning shot out from the feather without warning, striking Qin Caihe's finger. A wisp of lightning arc landed on it, immediately searing her flesh, turning it bloody and mangled, and causing her to scream in pain!

Fortunately, by the time the finger-thick lightning bolt struck, she had already been pulled away by Jiang Fan to a safe distance. The wisp of lightning missed its mark and hit the ground. With a sharp crack, the earth was scorched, leaving a three-zhang-long burnt mark! If it had struck a person, Qin Caihe would likely have been seared by the lightning from the inside out. Even if she survived, she would be severely injured.

Qin Caihe clutched her burning finger, her face showing the shock of a narrow escape. "W-What was that?"

Jiang Fan stared at the feather, thoughtfully remarking, "Silverwing Thunderbirds—did you think the 'thunder' in their name was just for show? Silverwing Thunderbirds are among the few demonic beasts capable of manipulating lightning power. Their feathers contain a trace of lightning energy."

He stroked his chin as he spoke. When he had swept Qin Caihe away just now, that wisp of lightning arc had actually transferred through her and into Jiang Fan's body, giving him a jolt. But it wasn't serious. This gave Jiang Fan a new idea for cultivating the 'Three Pure Lightning Shadow Art'. He would never dare to let heavenly lightning enter his body. But with his refined body, the lightning energy from the Silverwing Thunderbird might just be manageable. What a pity, though; the lightning energy in this feather was already depleted, and one feather wouldn't be nearly enough.

"Silverwing Thunderbird, huh?" Jiang Fan murmured softly.

The group rested briefly and then reorganized. However, they soon discovered a critical problem. "Senior Brother Jiang, the eagles don't look very well."

Jiang Fan looked over and saw that the eagles were all trembling. Clearly, the appearance of the Silverwing Thunderbird had frightened them.

"They'll be fine after a while," Jiang Fan said, feeling slightly relieved after confirming they had no external injuries. Qin Caihe, however, worried, "What if the Thousand-Mile Eagles haven't fully recovered by the time we reach the Joyous Union Sect? Those disciples overseeing the acceptance might use it as an excuse to make things difficult for us."

Jiang Fan shared this concern. After all, he really didn't know anyone at the Joyous Union Sect. "We'll deal with it when we get there!"

This time, there were no more incidents on the journey. Two days later, they successfully arrived at the Joyous Union Sect.

Unlike the tranquility of the Azure Cloud Sect and the Grand Supreme Sect, the Joyous Union Sect was deeply affected by the impending beast tide, and the atmosphere was quite somber. At the same time, there was an unusually high number of teams from various sects delivering all sorts of war supplies to the Joyous Union Sect.

When Jiang Fan and his group arrived at the mountain gate, several teams were already waiting to have their supplies inspected. "Oh? Is that Yi Lianxing from the Spirit Beast Sect? She's personally overseeing the escort mission." As an elite disciple of the Spirit Beast Sect, Yi Lianxing was quite famous. Someone immediately recognized her.

Among the Joyous Union Sect disciples responsible for receiving mission items, a male disciple walked over and quickly scanned their team. When his gaze fell upon the Thousand-Mile Eagles, he said in a deep voice, "Why are they all so listless? The Joyous Union Sect cannot easily sign off on mission items like this. Take them back!"

Jiang Fan raised an eyebrow. After two days of recuperation, the Thousand-Mile Eagles had largely recovered; they were just a bit listless. A few more days of rest would see them fully recover. The other party's refusal to accept was unreasonable. Of course, he understood that this was an opportunistic shakedown. And since it was a super-level one mission, the other party wouldn't easily back down. It would likely require a significant payoff!

But just then, a charming voice drifted over. "They're just a little startled; nothing serious. You go inspect the other mission items. I'll handle this group." Under the eaves in the distance, a Joyous Union Sect female disciple in a light gauze dress was leisurely sipping tea in a lounge chair. She turned her head, noticed Yi Lianxing, and then spoke up to interrupt the male disciple.

"Alright," the male disciple said, glancing reluctantly at them before walking away. The woman in the light gauze dress gracefully stood up, swayed her waist, and walked towards Yi Lianxing with a wide smile: "Sister Lianxing, two years apart, and you've become even more charming and feminine. You're simply captivating." She playfully pinched Yi Lianxing's backside.

"Yu Zijin, you disgust me!" Yi Lianxing quickly dodged, her face showing repulsion: "Two years in the Joyous Union Sect and you've become even more lewd!" It was clear that the two women were old friends, and their relationship was quite good. And fortunately, it happened to be her on duty today.

Jiang Fan and the others subtly relaxed. Thanks to Yi Lianxing having an acquaintance, otherwise, handing over this mission today would have been difficult.

Yu Zijin pouted, "Can't even tease you? Being so serious all the time will leave you without a man, just like your sect leader." How could Yi Lianxing respond to such a comment? She impatiently urged, "Stop rambling! Just sign for these eagles already!"

Yu Zijin rolled her eyes: "Alright, alright, I'll accept yours first. What can I say, your chest is bigger than mine." Yi Lianxing's face flushed, and she glared fiercely at her. She really couldn't stand this woman! She could be however she wanted in private, but to be so unrestrained in front of Junior Brother Jiang... What if Junior Brother Jiang mistakenly thought she was also a shameless woman because of this?

Jiang Fan's mouth twitched. He had to admit, some of the female disciples of the Joyous Union Sect were truly uninhibited! He dismounted, walked up to Yu Zijin, cupped his hands, and said, "Senior Sister Yu, thank you for your trouble." As he spoke to her at close range, he subtly slipped a money pouch into her sleeve. When others helped him, he naturally couldn't be stingy.

Yu Zijin, with practiced ease, weighed the sleeve of her garment, and her smile immediately widened: "Oh! Lianxing, where did you find such a generous 'husband'?" This pouch of spirit stones contained at least a thousand. Other teams were lucky to give a hundred.

Yi Lianxing retorted crossly, "Don't spread rumors! This is Junior Brother Jiang! Give him back the spirit stones!" Then she said to Jiang Fan, "Junior Brother Jiang, you don't need to be polite with her! We have a very good relationship; it's only right for her to help us out."

Yu Zijin, however, covered her sleeve and said with a beaming smile, "No returning it! This is Junior Brother Jiang's token of affection to me." Jiang Fan couldn't help but chuckle. "Senior Sister Yu, please just accept it. I arrived in a hurry and didn't prepare a proper gift. Take these spirit stones to buy some clothes or beauty creams." Although Yu Zijin helped out of consideration for her friendship with Yi Lianxing, he still needed to be sensible and not skimp on the deserved compensation.

Hearing this, Yu Zijin's eyes were full of appreciation: "You're very clever! No wonder Lianxing is so fond of you, taking you along on missions." Who wouldn't like to help out such a sensible junior brother?

Unexpectedly, Yi Lianxing corrected, "I told you to stop talking nonsense. It's not Junior Brother Jiang piggybacking on my mission. It's Junior Brother Jiang who is elevating the three of us."

A huge question mark appeared above Yu Zijin's head. Yi Lianxing was an elite disciple of the Spirit Beast Sect. Besides top-tier disciples of the chief-disciple level, who could possibly "elevate" her?