Chapter 919: 900. Good Friends From Now On
Chen Wentian flew out of Cloud Edge City and followed the message talisman into the sea of clouds. The talisman was of high quality. It flew too fast for any ordinary Spirit Lord to chase down. It soon disappeared amidst the thick white clouds that drifted haphazardly. He had to dodge left and right, avoiding the clouds the best he could. He didn’t want to fly through one in case something strange was hiding inside. However, he could still follow the spiritual energy trail.
The sea of clouds was like a maze. It was difficult to tell which way was which. The sun was obscured and there was no sense of direction or even distance. He had flown for a while but he didn’t know how far he was from Cloud Edge City.
Thankfully, the message talisman did not descend too deeply. It stuck to the first few layers, just below the surface. This meant that the owner of the talisman had not delved too deeply into the Temple of the Clouds.
The owner of the message talisman and of the Ancient House was a Spirit Lord Realm bandit by the name of Immortal Sage Gardener Zhang Qing. He was gifted at farming and raising herbs and used that to establish himself within Cloud Edge City and across the Temple of the Clouds.
In addition, it just so happened that Zhang Qing was a member of the Hero Alliance of Mount Liang. That’s right. He was similar to Immortal Dangerous God Yu Baosi and Immortal Silver Brawler Yu Yanwu. They were all members of the same bandit alliance.
Chen Wentian smiled as he slowed. He didn’t need to chase the talisman to the source. Here was as good as any. He picked a nearby wandering cloud and hid beneath it, turning his body into shadow with the power of the shadow fox. This was just an ordinary cloud, one of countless other ordinary clouds that covered this vast ocean.
After hiding, he waited.
Ten minutes, thirty minutes, an hour…
An immortal appeared, taking the path the message talisman had flown, back toward Cloud Edge City. Although Chen Wentian didn’t know what Immortal Sage Gardener Zhang Qing looked like, it could be nobody else.
Zhang Qing flew past Chen Wentian’s hiding place, none the wiser. Chen Wentian also didn’t attack. Instead, another individual would do the attacking for him.
There was a flash of silver light and a sudden burst of spiritual energy.
A giant silver fist materialized and crashed through the clouds toward Zhang Qing.
“Who?” He shouted and raised his fan, blocking the fist with a wave of green energy.
“Hahaha! Old Dog Zhang, I want to see if you can escape my fists today!”
“You… Yu Yanwu… have you gone crazy?” Zhang Qing bellowed, his voice pushing away the nearby clouds forcefully.
It was indeed Immortal Silver Brawler Yu Yanwu. He was familiar with Zhang Qing. The two immortals had an interesting relationship, one filled with twists and turns.
Originally, the two old men had a decent relationship due to joining the Hero Alliance of Mount Liang around the same time. However, it soon soured when Zhang Qing sold Yu Yanwu some bad medicinal herbs for a high price and later refused to admit it. Furious, Yu Yanwu used various tricks to steal Zhang Qing’s favorite concubines. In retaliation, Zhang Qing made friends with several other immortals within the Hero Alliance of Mount Liang and they bullied Yu Yanwu at every opportunity.
Chen Wentian shook his head. These bandits… was there any need for so much drama? But their petty squabbles suited his plans just fine.
Another silver fist crashed against Zhang Qing’s fan, sending him backward, “You old fart, you dare show your face around the Temple of the Clouds again? And you even dared to trash my herb shop! If I don’t take a few fingers from you today, then my name is not Zhang Qing!”
“Try me!”
The two bandit lords charged at each other, furiously trading blows. Yu Yanwu held the initial advantage, with his silver fists and brawling technique being superbly suited for hand-to-hand combat.
However, Zhang Qing’s cultivation art was strange and just as powerful. His fan seemed to be some kind of Spirit Lord Realm treasure, allowing him to keep up even though he had less raw power.
Sha! Sha!
The sharp edge of the fan caused two deep cuts on Yu Yanwu’s arm and he retreated a few steps.
Zhang Qing laughed, “Hahaha, how is it? After I take a few of your fingers, I wonder if you can still call them silver fists. Or will they become silver chicken claws?”
“Say that again! I’ll rip your tongue out!” Yu Yanwu bellowed and the fight resumed.
Punch after punch, clashing against a strange green fan, the two bandits fought without a care in the world. Such scenes were common all across the Temple of the Clouds. Nobody came to investigate. After all, this place was the battlefield of immortals.
Chen Wentian silently observed them. He was judging how long they had fought, how much energy they had expended, as well as how likely it was that they would be disturbed by outsiders. Finally, he decided it was the right time to act.
He slipped out of the cloud under the cover of shadow. Using his superior cultivation at the Spirit King Realm, he suppressed his aura and shot towards Zhang Qing’s exposed back.
His sword intent exploded out all at once. The might of the Descent of Ascalon spread across the sky, pressing down on Zhang Qing like a thousand executioner blades.
Thousand Sword Crusade!
“Who… ahhh!” Zhang Qing first shouted in alarm and then in terror.
He tried to flee but Yu Yanwu’s silver fists blocked the path.
“You… get out of the way!”
His fan waved forth but was pushed back by a pair of silver fists.
“No… wait.” He struggled but the pressure of the sword art was simply too frightful.
Several blades pierced his arms and legs, pinning him in place while a thousand more hung above, waiting for the signal to strike. These thousand swords made him fear death for the first time in a hundred years. He could do nothing. He could only wait for the end.
But the end didn’t come.
Instead, an extremely fat immortal appeared with a smile.
“Do you like my sword art?” Chen Wentian asked.
He waved his hand, making the thousand ethereal swords descend a little further.
“Wait… wait… What do you want?”
Chen Wentian laughed, “Do you want to live? I can spare your life. But you will have to work for me from now on.”
“You?” Zhang Qing’s eyes hardened.
“What? Not willing?” Chen Wentian lifted a finger.
“Ahhhh!” Zhang Qing cried out wretchedly after a dozen more swords pierced his limbs.
He knew that if he uttered another unsatisfactory word, he would die.
Zhang Qing swallowed and forgot about his momentary display of bravery, “Willing. I… I am willing.”
Chen Wentian nodded, “Good, you are now a member of my Million Swords Menace. My name is Immortal Sword Bandit Lin Huzhong. Swear your loyalty to me.”
“Yes…”
Zhang Qing made the necessary spiritual oaths and became another bandit underling. He now had the same status as Yu Yanwu and Yu Baosi. He was still a member of the Hero Alliance of Mount Liang. However, he would have to do things for the Million Swords Menace whenever he was needed.
“Good, Good,” Chen Wentian said, patting his wide stomach. “I won’t mistreat you. You can just ask Yu Yanwu.”
“You?” Zhang Qing asked in astonishment.
Yu Yanwu nodded with embarrassment.
Chen Wentian continued, “I heard the two of you had some conflicts in the past. I hope you both can put it behind you since you will have to work together. Here…”
He tossed out two cloth sacks which the two men caught. Each one contained fifty kilograms of red spiritual crystals or five million taels of gold.
“Yu Yuanwu that should be enough to cover the bad herbs you received from Zhang Qing, with interest. Zhang Qing, take that as compensation for your lost concubine. There is also a high-quality healing pill, for your injuries. You two will be good friends from now on. Say it.” He ordered.
Yu Yanwu and Zhang Qing looked at each other helplessly before repeating glumly, “Yes, Lord Sword Bandit, we will be good friends from now on.”
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