Chapter 261: Uprooting

Chapter 261: Uprooting

There was a large island in the Eastern Sea. A stone tablet had been erected by the harbor, on which were the two words "Jingang Temple." The island was surrounded by fog, and a formation flickered in and out of existence.

As night fell, a red-robed monk carrying two unconscious male disciples flew through the formation as he murmured a mantra.

A stone Buddha stood on the island, before which was a broad plaza where a number of monks had gathered.

The red-robed man flew into the plaza and tossed the two disciples down.

"These are two Taiqing disciples I found practicing turtle-breathing in the sea near Taiqing Island. I caught them and brought them here. It saved me quite a bit of time. Start interrogating them," the red-robed monk commanded.

"Understood!" the monks in the plaza replied.

The two Taiqing disciples were trussed up as the monks interrogated them for information about Taiqing Island. Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

Just then, a scarred monk walked over.

"Senior Uncle!" The monks bowed respectfully.

"Continue your interrogation. Don't worry about me." the scarred monk waved a hand, beckoning for the monks to get back to work.

"Understood!"

The scarred monk told the red-robed monk, "You've already kidnapped more than a few Taiqing disciples from beyond Taiqing Island. Be careful not to get caught."

"Don't worry, Senior Uncle. I've been very careful about things. The Taiqing Immortal Sect only ever loses one or two disciples at a time, and they won't discover anything amiss for the short term. More importantly, my master has tasked me with keeping track of the Taiqing Sect's activities. The best and most accurate way of doing so is to interrogate Taiqing disciples directly." The red-robed monk smiled.

"Your master's being too cautious in Xiao Hongye's lands. What threat could that land possibly pose? If it were me, I'd sweep through the cities by myself and seize all that land," the scarred monk replied dismissively.

The red-robed monk bowed his head and smiled. "Please calm down, Senior Uncle. Master's aware of the enmity that you bear toward Xiao Hongye, and he's worried that you'll incite retaliation from the Tianshu Empire.

"Those are extraneous concerns. It's true that I bear Xiao Hongye enmity, but he's already gone missing. Why would I act rashly? With the return of the Xiang cultivators, uprisings are occurring all over the Tianshu Empire. Who would have the time to pay attention to Xiao Hongye's lands? My two senior brothers are Wingform-realm cultivators who can take on any opponent. Why waste so much time trying to capture Xiao Nanfeng?"

"They were worried that Ku Jiang and Hong Lie might be stationed in Yongding, but that problem has been solved. If I'm not mistaken, Master and Senior Uncle Xu Kong will be back with Xiao Nanfeng at any moment now," the red-robed monk replied.

Just then, golden light flashed through the formation overhead as a bloodied figure fell to the ground beside the two monks, smashing into the stone floor.

"Who is it?!" Everyone turned to the commotion.

"Master? Is that you?!" the red-robed monk exclaimed.

"What? Is that Senior Brother Xu Ming?!" the scarred monk exclaimed.

The bloodied figure in front of them had lost one arm and one leg, and his skin was decomposing and peeling off. It was almost impossible to recognize Xu Ming's features, but the silhouette he struck was clearly that of Xu Ming.

"What happened to you, Senior Brother?!" The scarred monk hurriedly gave Xu Ming first aid.

"Inform the abbot immediately!" someone cried out.

Countless monks gathered by the plaza. The abbot of the Jingang Temple, radiating with holy light, rushed out and assisted the scarred monk in tending to Xu Ming's body.

"I understand!" Xu Ming nodded firmly.

"And what about me?" the scarred monk asked.

"Xu Fa, you'll stay here and guard the sect," the abbot replied.

"What?!" The scarred monk glowered,

but the abbot refused to change his mind. He was forced to remain.

Xu Ming consumed a great deal of spiritual pills. Deep in meditation, he urged his limbs to regrow. Within half a day, his skin was shedding and being knitted anew as well.

However, his new limbs were still extremely weak, and it would take a significant amount of time before they would be as flexible and easy to manipulate as his original ones.

The next day, at daybreak, the abbot of the Jingang Temple, Xu Ming, and some Spiritsong-realm monks flew across the sea, dragging thousands of Jingang disciples behind them in a large net.

Meanwhile, on a rocky island shrouded by fog not too far away, Xiao Nanfeng and thousands of Taiqing disciples were watching the Jingang procession leave.

"King Xiao, you were right. The Jingang disciples are headed to the Xiao lands with thousands of monks. I suppose we'll have much on our plates for the long run," Ye Sanshui commented, smiling wryly.

"If they intend to seize my lands, then I shall do the same to them first. The Jingang abbot himself has set off. There's no one skilled left except for the monk Xu Fa. We'll sneak in, excavate the draconic vein, and raise our cultivation," Xiao Nanfeng informed everyone.

"Understood!" thousands of Taiqing disciples cried out.

They had just claimed ten cities in the Xiao lands before Xiao Nanfeng suddenly summoned them all. They expected that Xiao Nanfeng was going to have an ordinary feast; none of them could have imagined that Xiao Nanfeng would bring them all to feast on a draconic vein instead. What a pleasant surprise!

"It won't be easy to break through the Jingang Temple's protective formation, will it?" Ye Sanshui frowned.

"No, it's trivial." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

Any time a disciple walked in or out of the Jingang Temple, there would be an opportunity to strike. Many Jingang disciples were crossing in and out, and You Jiu had already snuck in.

A huge crash resounded from within the temple as the main formation shattered.

"Senior Uncle Xu Fa, something's wrong! Someone has destroyed the island-protecting formation!" a disciple exclaimed.

"What? Who?!" The scarred monk's roar could be heard from afar.

Two huge spirits landed on the island. Croak and Warble had appeared as vanguards.

Huge quantities of dust filtered into the air.

"Go on. We'll claim the island for ourselves!" Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

"Understood!" the Taiqing disciples cried out in excitement.

The Spiritsong-realm elders, ferrying thousands of Taiqing disciples in a huge net, began to swarm the island.

"It's Xiao Nanfeng—he's come with thousands of Taiqing disciples! Help!" The Jingang disciples began to panic.