Chapter 59: Internal Strife within the City

Time flew by, and the curtain of night had already fallen.

Xie Peiling was in the middle of his meal when he suddenly turned his head, looked up, and caught sight of a faint streak of light flashing across the sky not far away, followed by a series of howling gales.

Right behind that was an imposing, fierce sword Qi.

It was blatantly obvious that the two cultivators in front were fleeing, while a sword cultivator was in hot pursuit.

The three auras collided continuously in the air before ultimately plunging toward a remote corner in the southern section of Yuan'an Prefecture City.

Xie Peiling paid it no mind and calmly continued his dinner.

At that moment, Ye Zhuying had already set down his bowl and chopsticks, turning to him with a smile. "Let me know when you're finished. There's nothing going on anyway, and since we're just idling about, let's go join the crowd and see who on earth is bold enough to engage in a reckless public duel in broad daylight."

Due to the significant turmoil shaking the entire nation, Yuan'an Prefecture City had stepped up its vigilance, tightening all defensive measures to an extreme degree.

Even elders from various sects found it difficult to slip through unnoticed; anyone entering the city was strictly required to register.

Coupled with the grand formation operating within the city walls, it was safe to say that the culprits would be tracked down in no time. For these three individuals to act with such blatant audacity meant that even if they were honored guests or prodigies from a major family, they would still have to pay a hefty price to make their escape.

As for the killings that had taken place in the city earlier, the bodies had clearly been concealed by someone. But among those killed by Xie Peiling, one had died right out in the open. Who on earth had cleaned up that mess?

Could it have been Ye Zhuying?

Xie Peiling glanced at him. Noticing the look, Ye Zhuying turned his head and offered him a smile.

Xie Peiling dismissed the thought. The other party clearly knew nothing about it, and it was even less likely to be Xu Yuanming. Asking Xu Yuanming to wipe everyone's memories clean was about as believable as asking him to slaughter all the local commoners.

In the end, Xie Peiling's suspicions landed on Chu Xianlv. Right now, aside from her, he honestly couldn't think of anyone else capable of pulling it off.

Why would she help him like this? Was it simply because he held the marriage contract of the Qionglin Banquet that she was treating him as if he were the Qionglin Banquet itself?

Xie Peiling couldn't wrap his head around what was going on in her mind.

He still had to return this sword tomorrow. Although it had only been in his possession for a short time, Xie Peiling could still deeply appreciate its extraordinary nature.

Among all the swords Xie Peiling had ever wielded, not a single one had felt as handy and natural as this. He had truly experienced what it meant to cut through iron like mud; everyone targeted by his blade so far had perished.

"Are we going?"

Seeing that Xie Peiling had yet to give a reply, Ye Zhuying asked.

Xie Peiling nodded and said, "Alright."

The two of them left the core district as casually as if taking a stroll, and no one stopped them.

Leaving was easy, but getting back in was hard.

Relying on their memory of the landing spots indicated by the lingering auras, the two found the location where those individuals had dropped.

The main street was bustling with a surging crowd of nearly two to three hundred people, divided into two distinct factions.

Xie Peiling stood somewhat cautiously near a distant building, even quietly forming a incantation to conceal his presence.

Ye Zhuying, on the other hand, did no such thing. He simply sat swaggeringly upon a wooden stool.

The onlookers grew more and more numerous, the noise rising to a clamor. Even residents who had already fallen asleep were disturbed and came out to see what all the commotion was about.

The most eye-catching figure was a young man with star-like eyes and sharply defined brows, clad in a pale white robe. A flying sword orbited around him like a protective dharma avatar, striking down and piercing through anyone who dared to approach too closely.

Lying on the ground before the young man were two martial artists with bloody, gaping holes driven straight through their chests. The two cultivators who had been giving chase earlier appeared to be only a year or two older than Xie Peiling; at that moment, they had sustained heavy injuries and were watching the cultivator before them with extreme vigilance.

The atmosphere between the two sides was taut and brimming with hostility. Xie Peiling sent a voice transmission, "Brother Ye, with cultivators causing such a massive disturbance that disrupts the residents and even leads to murder, how will the yamen handle this?"

Ye Zhuying looked over toward him with a helpless expression and said, "You really overestimate me. I'm just an ordinary person—how would I know anything about voice transmission?"

His words were spoken very softly, and with the surrounding crowd making such a din and focusing all their attention on the two opposing factions, absolutely no one paid him any mind. Thus, only Xie Peiling could hear him.

Not long after, Xie Peiling walked over to Ye Zhuying's side.

Ye Zhuying pointed at the two opposing groups and said softly, "A matter like this isn't small, but it isn't massive either. The crux of the issue is that a homicide occurred, yet the victims happened to be mere martial artists, which makes it quite easy to brush aside and gloss over. If ordinary citizens had died, it would be far more troublesome. After all, settling personal vendettas in the streets of the martial world is commonplace, and the authorities usually turn a blind eye."

"However, because cultivators are involved, things are entirely different. Barring any unexpected turns, that white-robed cultivator is likely a disciple from a nearby sect, while those two across from him are clearly rogue cultivators."

Xie Peiling asked, "Could there be any other possibility?"

Ye Zhuying gave him a sidelong glance and retorted, "For rogue cultivators, acquiring resources and cultivation techniques is far more difficult than you imagine. What's more, every step of their cultivation symbolizes a major risk. With no one to pave the way ahead, they have to grope about entirely on their own, which leaves their spiritual Qi extremely chaotic and their combat prowess far inferior to sect disciples. The fact that these two had to join forces and still only managed to injure that young man is proof enough of that."

Xie Peiling had never experienced such a life. Due to his frail health since childhood, his parents had no idea how much money they had spent or how many times they had been swindled, until he was finally brought to the Yingtian Taoist Temple by a wandering errand disciple who was around seventy or eighty years old.

Every step of cultivation had been grueling. Even though there was someone to guide the path ahead, it remained overwhelmingly difficult. Jumping from an errand disciple to a registered disciple was already rare, let alone progressing any further to become an outer sect disciple.

He himself was almost starting to forget what he had been like back then, willing to sacrifice everything just for a sliver of means to improve his cultivation.

Noticing his expression, Ye Zhuying poked him in the ribs and asked, "What are you daydreaming about? Isn't watching the scene right in front of us much more interesting?"

Xie Peiling smiled and said, "Fair enough."

Ye Zhuying grinned and said, "If it is, then quickly channel your spiritual Qi into my body. I've been standing here dawdling and just watching for ages without hearing a single word of what they're saying."

Xie Peiling nodded, channeling a sliver of spiritual Qi to coat Ye Zhuying's ears, and instantly, a wave of voices flooded through.

They heard the younger of the two rogue cultivators pointing directly at the young cultivator, cursing furiously, "The 'Feathering Sect' claims to be a righteous sect of true renown! How could it ever produce insidious scoundrels like you?!"

The young sword cultivator maintained a calm and unruffled demeanor, speaking with a cold, expressionless voice, "Do you still not know what you've done? It is already past the curfew hour, and all cultivators are strictly prohibited from unleashing spiritual Qi. Based solely on this infraction alone, I have every right to execute you on the spot. Besides, the fact that you're still breathing—isn't that the greatest proof of your guilt?"

Meanwhile, unknown to anyone present, this sanctimonious disciple of the Feathering Sect sneered inwardly to himself.