Chapter 565: News of the Piaomiao Sect

“Don’t be anxious, Old Feng. This Jade Restoration Pill is the signature skill of the Inner Sect alchemists. Back when we were all in the Inner Sect, we still couldn’t successfully refine it. It’s probably impossible to master it in one stroke now. Just keep trying slowly.”

“As for the other pills, it’s no big deal if they get ruined. But if the Jade Restoration Pill fails during refinement, it’ll explode. Just look at my beard—it’ll be burned clean off sooner or later.”

“It’s a pity that last time Wu Zhouxu finally managed to bring out that Jade Restoration Pill, only for Chen Fengxiao to get it first. Otherwise, we could have studied it properly.”

“Sigh, don’t place your hopes on that. It was only a failed Jade Restoration Pill anyway. Even if it had been a genuine one, haven’t we seen them before? Yet we still couldn’t figure it out.”

“Enough. Isn’t the very reason we were exiled here because we couldn’t refine the Jade Restoration Pill? And aren’t those old fossils being kept in the Inner Sect only because they can refine it? Once I figure it out, I’ll teach all of you as well. Then we’ll return in glory and make them hold us up on high!”

Elder Lei laughed and said, “Good. Then this glorious yet arduous task shall be entrusted to Brother Feng. You must take care of yourself and not end up with your ‘ambition unfulfilled while your beard is gone first.’”

“Hahaha!” Elder Xu also burst into laughter.

At that moment, more than a dozen disciples from the Pill Division came up from below the mountain after hearing the commotion. Elder Lei and the others waved their hands, briefly explained the situation, and sent them away. Once those disciples had gone some distance, Zhang Xiaohua no longer delayed. He slipped into the ground and followed behind them from afar.

The farther down the mountain they went, the more disciples they encountered, and mountain caves like the earlier pill-refining chamber also became more numerous. The dozen or so disciples headed toward different refining chambers. Zhang Xiaohua no longer deliberately followed them. Instead, he quietly hid behind a large boulder and used his Divine Sense to observe the surrounding activity.

The terrain here was relatively level, and there were seven or eight caves nearby. Disciples constantly entered and exited each one. Some carried medicinal herbs, some carried jade bottles, and a very small number even carried jade boxes inside. However, seeing the misty appearance surrounding these caves, Zhang Xiaohua lost any interest in going in to take a look. At this moment, he was not studying Spring Rebirth Valley’s alchemy techniques, so there was no reason for him to be interested in this sort of “alchemy” that was inferior even to orthodox martial alchemy.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xiaohua slipped into the ground and headed back toward the summit. When he circled around to the northern side of the peak, he found nothing but sheer cliffs, without any level ground at all, and naturally, there was nowhere suitable for people to stay.

Zhang Xiaohua merely poked his head out for a look before returning to the eastern side. The small hut was still empty; Bai Huan apparently had not returned yet. Zhang Xiaohua then headed toward the southern side. As he was moving along, he suddenly noticed what seemed to be a cave in a steep area at the southeastern corner. When he approached, it was indeed a cave. Zhang Xiaohua was overjoyed.

The reason he had searched from west to north and then from north to east was precisely to find a place where he could settle down. Although there was a small hut beside the medicinal fields, it was fine only when Zhang Xiaohua lived there alone. Now that Bai Huan had come as well, practically to keep an eye on him, it was no longer an ideal residence.

This cave at the southeastern corner, however, was exactly the sort of place he had in mind.

The cave entrance was not large, only wide enough for a single person to pass through, but the interior was fairly spacious and quite dry. At that moment, sunlight from afar shone directly inside, making it bright and pleasant. Zhang Xiaohua casually looked around and found it satisfactory before coming back out. In truth, he had lived in a cave for a long time on that deserted island overseas in his earlier years. As long as it was a place where he could sit cross-legged and cultivate, he had no other requirements.

After leaving the cave, Zhang Xiaohua still went on to inspect the southern face of the mountain.

The southern slope seemed even gentler. Near the summit, there were not many medicinal fields, and even those that existed were very small, unable to grow much in the way of herbs. The farther down one went, however, the more medicinal fields there were. Each field was quite large, and even the corners and irregular patches were planted with precious herbs. Many Herb Division disciples, with a single grass blade embroidered on their sleeves, were busily at work. The scene was similar to that on the eastern slope around the mountainside.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiaohua shook his head. This was not a place he wished to visit often. However, he suddenly remembered something—Boss Chen still seemed not to have issued him any clothing.

Thus, he turned and returned to the summit. Arriving before the cave he had just discovered, he looked down toward the medicinal fields far below on the mountainside. Zhang Xiaohua found it somewhat strange and wondered how the predecessors of the Incense-Spreading Sect had arranged things. On Tianmu Peak, only the western side contained numerous pill-refining chambers for alchemy. On the other three sides, even caves were extremely scarce.

Just as he was pondering this, he heard someone calling from afar, “Junior Brother Ren! Junior Brother Ren! Where are you?”

Was it not Bai Huan’s voice?

Zhang Xiaohua answered and then walked around the mountain bend toward the medicinal fields on the eastern side.

Hearing Zhang Xiaohua’s reply, Bai Huan hurried over. Only after seeing Zhang Xiaohua in person did he let out a sigh of relief and ask: “Where did Junior Brother Ren go? The southern side of the mountain is also the territory of our Herb Division. Did you go take a look there?”

Zhang Xiaohua smiled and nodded. “That’s right. Back in Spring Rebirth Valley, I never saw so many medicinal fields. Seeing them now, I couldn’t help but be amazed.”

“Hehe, Junior Brother Ren has only just arrived. In time, you’ll learn that the medicinal fields on Tianmu Peak aren’t actually that numerous. The northern side is steep. There used to be some medicinal herbs there, but they’ve all been harvested, and it’s not easy to cultivate anything there now. The western side belongs entirely to the Pill Division, so not much is planted there either. Only the eastern and southern sides can really be used for cultivation. On the other peaks, such as Sanmao Peak, Baiyue Peak, and Shixin Peak, the entire mountains are covered with medicinal herbs. That’s what you call a magnificent sight. Oh, right, Shixin Peak has now been taken over by the Piaomiao Hall, and the Sect Leader assigned Jingshan Peak to us instead. Although Jingshan Peak has only belonged to us for a few years, the mountain has already been fully developed, and together with the herbs that were originally planted there, it can barely compare with Shixin Peak.”

He then smacked his lips a few times and said, “Tsk tsk, Shixin Peak was truly an excellent mountain. It used to be the best peak of our Tuodan Hall. If not for the Sect Leader’s strict orders, Hall Master would never have been willing to give it up.”

“Piaomiao Hall?” Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua was overjoyed. Ever since arriving at the Incense-Spreading Sect, he had wanted to find an opportunity to inquire about the Piaomiao Sect, but he had never had the chance and did not dare abruptly steer a conversation toward it. Now that Bai Huan had brought it up himself, a smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of Zhang Xiaohua’s mouth as he asked, “Piaomiao Hall? What’s that? Is it something like Shuyu Hall, digging for jade stones and the like?”

“Hehe, so you don’t know?” Bai Huan said with a proud expression. “You also came from outside, from Spring Rebirth Valley. Have you ever heard of the Piaomiao Sect?”

“The Piaomiao Sect?” Zhang Xiaohua put on a strange expression and frowned. “It seems I’ve heard of it, yet it also seems I haven’t. You know me—I was always in Spring Rebirth Valley and rarely went out.”

Bai Huan looked somewhat disappointed and said in a tone of exasperation, “Junior Brother Ren, your martial arts are so formidable, yet you don’t have even the slightest bit of knowledge about the jianghu. Don’t you know the names of the great powers of the martial world—the Dalin Temple, the Incense-Spreading Sect, the Heaven’s Way Alliance, the Piaomiao Sect, the Falling Star Alliance, and the rest?”

“Oh, if you’re talking about that, then of course I know. The Yuli Alliance, the Giant Whale Gang… I know those too.”

“What you say isn’t wrong, but do you know who is the most powerful besides the Dalin Temple, the Heaven’s Way Alliance, and our Incense-Spreading Sect?”

“That I don’t know. Isn’t it our Yuli Alliance?”

“Take another guess.” It was as though the Zhang Xiaohua before him was a five- or six-year-old child who still required his patient instruction.

Helpless, Zhang Xiaohua opened his mouth wide and said, “Could it be… the Piaomiao Sect that Senior Brother Bai mentioned?”

“Correct!” Bai Huan clapped his hands and laughed loudly. “Exactly. The Piaomiao Sect is the most powerful martial sect after the Dalin Temple, the Heaven’s Way Alliance, and ourselves. But do you know what became of the Piaomiao Sect now?”

Zhang Xiaohua frowned and said, “How would I know that?”

Then, putting on an expression of sudden realization, he said, “Could it be… that this Piaomiao Sect is related to our Piaomiao Hall?”

Bai Huan clapped his hands again and laughed. “Exactly. Our Piaomiao Hall is made up of the former Piaomiao Sect that we wiped out four years ago. Their disciples were all brought back by the Sect Leader and organized into the Piaomiao Hall!”

“The Piaomiao Sect was destroyed by our Incense-Spreading Sect?” Zhang Xiaohua was somewhat astonished. This was completely different from what the Piaomiao Sect disciple Chu Yunfei had told him, and it also contradicted the rumors circulating in the jianghu.

Bai Huan continued proudly, “Naturally. Our Incense-Spreading Sect only had to lift a little finger to destroy the Piaomiao Sect and bring back all their remaining disciples.”

“But doesn’t the Incense-Spreading Sect rarely involve itself in the jianghu? What could the Piaomiao Sect have done to provoke you? How could they suddenly wipe them out? Also, Senior Brother Bai, I’d like to ask something. Since Shixin Peak was the best peak of your Tuodan Hall, how could it be forcibly taken away and assigned to the Piaomiao Hall?”

Zhang Xiaohua was secretly amused, but his face showed only confusion as he asked.

“Well…” Bai Huan hesitated. “Perhaps that Piaomiao Sect was running wild in the jianghu and offended disciples of our Incense-Spreading Sect who were outside. Although our Incense-Spreading Sect cannot freely enter and leave the jianghu, there are still many Outer Sect disciples who travel about it. I suppose they must have come into conflict with the Piaomiao Sect. Hehe, anyone who dares provoke the Incense-Spreading Sect is tired of living. If not for that damned passageway, the entire jianghu would already belong to our Incense-Spreading Sect!”

“Hehe, even a minor, insignificant disciple of the Tuodan Hall thinks this way. I wonder what the Outer Sect and Inner Sect disciples think. Truly a frog at the bottom of a well… Though perhaps I shouldn’t say that. The Incense-Spreading Sect has inherited immortal Dao techniques for ten thousand years. What if there’s someone like me among them? Then again, the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth within the Incense-Spreading Sect is so thin that it shouldn’t be very likely.”

As Zhang Xiaohua pondered this, feeling somewhat uneasy, he suddenly asked again, “By the way, Senior Brother Bai, you still haven’t answered my question. Since Shixin Peak is such an excellent peak, how could it have been assigned to the Piaomiao Hall? Wouldn’t it have been enough just to move them to Tianmu Peak?”

Zhang Xiaohua had always wanted to gather information about his second brother, so naturally, he could not allow the focus of the conversation to remain entirely on the Piaomiao Hall.

PS: Before I knew it, this chapter turned into a dialogue-heavy one, haha. Some of the background and rules of the Incense-Spreading Sect also have to be explained through conversation. I’ll pay more attention to this in the future; my apologies.

Also, although Zhang Xiaohua wants to make a name for himself, he has no backing and no powerful supporters. He cannot let others notice him too much, otherwise his life would be in danger. Sigh, the jianghu is cruel. What has been shown so far is only its peaceful side.