Chapter 58: Zuo Feiyu

Wei Guangming’s expression was unfriendly.

It was easy for Old Daoist Qi to come, but leaving wouldn’t be so simple.

“Bring him in!”

A moment later, Old Daoist Qi walked in with a beaming face. Beside him followed a handsome Young Master wearing a moon-white brocade robe and a white jade crown.

“Old Daoist Qi, you actually dare to come to my Iron Clad Gate? You have some nerve! Are you here to return the things belonging to my Iron Clad Gate?”

Wei Guangming looked at Old Daoist Qi with an unfriendly expression.

Old Daoist Qi chuckled and said, “Sect Leader Wei, it’s just a few worldly possessions. Why be so calculative?”

“Although I didn’t help you much inside Demon Sealing Valley, I can still help you outside of it.”

“I came today because I want to introduce someone to you, and also to find a future for your Iron Clad Gate.”

As he spoke, Old Daoist Qi pointed at the young man and said, “This is the Young Manor Lord of Green Peak Manor, Zuo Feiyu.”

Wei Guangming quickly cupped his hands and said, “So it is Young Master Zuo. Forgive me for failing to welcome you properly.”

Green Peak Manor was the largest power in the border area of Ning Province. The Manor Lord, ‘Azure Edge Without Trace’ Zuo Tianyuan, was a Sword Dao Grandmaster of the Yuan Dan Realm.

When Zuo Tianyuan traveled through the Central Plains Martial Forest, his unique sword technique, the Azure Edge Nine Swords, had even been praised by an Elder of the Lingtian Sword Pavilion, a major Sword Dao Sect in the Central Plains.

In the Nine Realms of Martial Dao, only upon reaching the seventh Realm, the Yuan Dan Realm, is one qualified to be called a Grandmaster, signaling that they have truly carved out a martial path unique to themselves.

Furthermore, over the years, Green Peak Manor had recruited many experts, with countless Guest Elders and retainers under its banner. Its prestige and power were not something his Iron Clad Gate could compare to.

The Zuo Feiyu before him was not just Zuo Tianyuan’s son; he had already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm at a young age. His strength was not inferior to the younger generation of Martial Artists from top-tier major powers, and he was a well-known talent in the Ning Province Martial Forest.

“Sect Leader Wei is too polite. I heard Sect Leader Wei was injured. I have here a healing Medicinal Pill produced by Medicine King Valley, which can help Sect Leader Wei recover from your injuries quickly.”

Zuo Feiyu pulled out a porcelain bottle and handed it to Wei Guangming.

Wei Guangming took the pill and asked cautiously, “One should not receive rewards without merit. May I ask what business brings Young Master Zuo to my Iron Clad Gate?”

Green Peak Manor and Iron Clad Gate had never had much interaction. Now that Zuo Feiyu had suddenly come to visit and even gifted him a healing pill, Wei Guangming was unsure of what the other party wanted.

But having spent so much time in the Jianghu, there was one thing he could be certain of.

That was, in this Jianghu, benefits never come for free.

Zuo Feiyu laughed heartily: “Sect Leader Wei is straightforward, so I won’t hide anything.”

“Ning Province is a vital passage to the north, bordering the Central Plains to the south, the grasslands to the west, and Huangtian Ridge to the east. Therefore, it has been a place of mixed dragons and snakes since ancient times.”

“In earlier years, the Ning Province Tianwu Alliance gathered the heroes of the Ning Province Jianghu to rebel against the imperial court, but they were eventually recruited and transformed into the Town Martial Hall. Ning Province was peaceful for a few days after that.”

“But in recent years, the prestige of the Town Martial Hall has declined significantly, and signs of chaos have appeared in Ning Province.”

“My father wishes to change Green Peak Manor into the Nine Sword Alliance and invite the heroes from The border between You and Ning to join.”

“Iron Clad Gate is a major Sect in Panyang. Sect Leader Wei developed Iron Clad Gate to such a scale single-handedly; you are also a hero of this age.”

“So, I volunteered before my father to invite you, Sect Leader Wei, to join my Nine Sword Alliance and achieve great things together!”

Wei Guangming’s expression changed slightly: “You want to rebel?”

The Sun Exchange Alliance had just started an uprising in Yan Province. Upon hearing that Green Peak Manor wanted to form some Nine Sword Alliance, Wei Guangming instinctively thought they wanted to rebel.

“Of course not. Our Ning Province is not Yan Province; it hasn’t reached the point of rebellion.”

Zuo Feiyu smiled: “It’s just that the chaos in Ning Province is beginning to show, and various forces are clashing. My Green Peak Manor is only doing this to protect itself in this turmoil.”

“A single sword is easily broken, but nine swords can both attack and defend. This is the origin of the Nine Sword Alliance’s name.”

“Sect Leader Wei, it’s certainly impressive to be the king in Panyang City, but have you ever thought about extending the influence of the Iron Clad Gate to the entire Ning Province?”

“Join my Nine Sword Alliance and become one of these nine swords. My father and I will definitely not mistreat you in the future, Sect Leader Wei.”

Old Daoist Qi also persuaded from the side: “Sect Leader Wei, Alliance Leader Zuo and Young Master Zuo are both men of great ambition.”

“The Nine Sword Alliance is named as such, but there will certainly be more than nine swords. More people will surely join in the future.”

“However, since the Alliance has just been formed, if you join now, you will be like a Founding Elder.”

“Now that the Yinshan Five Ghosts are gone, I, this old Daoist, have been wandering the Jianghu alone and aimlessly.”

“It wasn’t until I followed the Young Master that I realized a real man born between heaven and earth should do great things!”

Wei Guangming fell into deep thought.

Green Peak Manor wanted to form the Nine Sword Alliance. Given Zuo Tianyuan’s reputation, its power would likely be significant.

Zuo Feiyu had come personally to invite him; if he refused, he was afraid he would offend Zuo Feiyu.

Similarly, the Iron Clad Gate had suffered heavy losses. If they could get some support from the Nine Sword Alliance, they could recover their strength as quickly as possible.

Taking a deep breath, Wei Guangming said in a heavy voice, “Young Master Zuo has come personally to invite me. If I don’t agree, it would be too ungrateful.”

“But before joining the Nine Sword Alliance, I would like to trouble Young Master Zuo to help me kill two people.”

“Who does Sect Leader Wei want to kill?”

“Thirteen Lang Luo of the Sun Exchange Alliance, and the You Province Loose Cultivator Chen Tian!”

Wei Guangming said through gritted teeth, “Those two villains deliberately stood by and watched us fall into a death trap during the Demon Sealing Conference while they profited from it.”

“My Iron Clad Gate has fallen to its current state, and those two villains cannot escape the blame!”

Wei Guangming asked Zuo Feiyu to help kill Chen Tian partly because he truly couldn’t swallow his anger.

But the bigger reason was to test the capabilities of this Nine Sword Alliance and see if it was worth joining.

Beside him, Old Daoist Qi also said fiercely, “My four brothers were also killed by this Chen Tian. If you take action, Young Master, it will also count as avenging me.”

Zuo Feiyu raised an eyebrow slightly and immediately agreed.

“I have also heard about the incident in Demon Sealing Valley from Daoist Qi. Those two villains are indeed hateful, actually sacrificing the lives of over a thousand Martial Artists for their own selfish gain.”

“Daoist Qi was the first to enter my service. Even if Sect Leader Wei hadn’t mentioned it, I would still help Daoist Qi seek justice.”

“However, we cannot do anything to that Thirteen Lang Luo for the time being.”

“I had people investigate on the way; Thirteen Lang Luo has already returned to Yan Province. My Nine Sword Alliance cannot go and kill someone right under the nose of the Sun Exchange Alliance.”

“But as long as that Chen Tian is still in The border between You and Ning, I can take his head to vent the anger of Sect Leader Wei and Daoist Qi!”

Before coming, Zuo Feiyu knew that an old Jianghu hand like Wei Guangming certainly wouldn’t join him just because of a few words.

If he wanted the other party to join the Nine Sword Alliance, he had to show something real.

Now, killing a Loose Cultivator could gain the loyalty of Old Daoist Qi and bring Wei Guangming and the Iron Clad Gate into the fold; it was a very worthwhile deal.

“Thank you, Young Master!”

Upon seeing this, Wei Guangming directly bowed his head in submission.

Zuo Feiyu helped Wei Guangming up, then asked Old Daoist Qi to help him gather men to track Chen Yuan’s movements and prepare for an ambush.

To kill a mere Loose Cultivator, Zuo Feiyu naturally didn’t need to do it himself.

During his trip to The border between You and Ning, he had already gathered many Jianghu Loose Cultivators and some small forces and Sects.

These people were more than eager to join the Nine Sword Alliance to improve their own strength.

As soon as Zuo Feiyu’s order was issued, these people were also rubbing their hands in anticipation, ready to perform meritorious deeds before Young Alliance Leader Zuo to secure a good position in the Nine Sword Alliance in the future… Inside the inn in Gushu Town.

True Qi circulated around Chen Yuan’s body. Golden Buddhist light and black Devilish Qi were intertwined, appearing extremely eerie.

After nearly half a month, Chen Yuan had already achieved initial mastery of the Immaculate Crystal Vajra Sutra and the Tathagata Freedom Demon Secret Canon.

Chen Yuan’s Realm was still the Middle Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. The Foundation Establishment Realm requires the accumulation of True Qi; only when the quality of True Qi breaks through to a major level can one advance further.

Although these two Cultivation Techniques were powerful, they were more reflected in combat strength, so they hadn’t allowed Chen Yuan to break through to the Late Stage.

However, Chen Yuan was in no hurry.

These two techniques were a level stronger than the Surging Waves and Flowing Clouds Technique.

With continuous cultivation, plus refining those Yuan Pills wrapped in Devilish Qi, Chen Yuan was confident he could step into the Late Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm in four to five months at most, or two to three months at least.

There was no need for Chen Yuan to remain in seclusion for his daily cultivation. He still needed to rush to central Ning Province to use a plot point to join the Ning Province Town Martial Hall.

Ning Province was very peculiar. Its area was massive, three times that of You Province, enough to rank in the top three among the Nineteen Provinces of Daxia, and its nature was extremely special.

Among the Nineteen Provinces of Daxia, nine provinces were nominally under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, and Ning Province was one of these nine.

But in reality, only half of Ning Province actually belonged to the imperial court.

Ning Province was a land of four wars and a vital passage to the north, bordering the Central Plains to the south, the grasslands to the west, and to the east was the Huangtian Ridge, a primitive mountain forest that spanned several provinces and buried countless ancient secrets.

Since the founding of Daxia, Ning Province had not been peaceful; it had always been a place of mixed dragons and snakes, extremely chaotic.

Until thirty years ago, the Ning Province giant ‘Chaotic Martial Heavenly King’ Chao Hongtu rose to power, forming the Ning Province Tianwu Alliance and gathering countless grassroots heroes to occupy the region and rebel against the imperial court.

The imperial court sent a large army to suppress them, but they were all defeated by Chao Hongtu leading the Tianwu Alliance.

However, Chao Hongtu was different from Zhi Shilang.

From the beginning, Zhi Shilang wanted to overthrow the Daxia Dynasty and change the world.

But Chao Hongtu’s bottom line was to occupy a region, so he did not completely annihilate the imperial court’s troops.

Later, the imperial court sent people to negotiate, promising Chao Hongtu many benefits, and finally successfully recruited this Jianghu giant.

Since then, the Tianwu Alliance was renamed the Ning Province Town Martial Hall, and Chao Hongtu was conferred the title of Town Martial Grand Governor, guarding Ning Province for generations.

Evaluations of this ‘Chaotic Martial Heavenly King’ in the Jianghu were mixed.

Some said he came from a grassroots background but could dominate a province and even force the imperial court to back down; he was definitely a formidable figure.

And because the Town Martial Hall suppressed the Ning Province region, the originally chaotic Ning Province finally enjoyed a period of peace.

Others said Chao Hongtu was fundamentally a cowardly person who accepted recruitment to become an imperial hawk and hound, suppressing his fellow Ning Province Jianghu comrades, a disgrace to the Martial Forest.

Overall, Chao Hongtu’s reputation in the Ning Province Jianghu was a mix of praise and blame, but the Town Martial Hall dominating Ning Province was the undisputed overlord of Ning Province.

However, Chen Yuan didn’t care about Chao Hongtu.

The Town Martial Hall had a shocking Opportunity, and Chen Yuan had to get his hands on it.