Chapter 64: Parting Ways

The banks of the Yeh River were eerily quiet, with the devastating explosion of the source energy leaving corpses strewn all over the place. Almost no one survived, the weaker innate experts and city guards who were too close were blown to bits in an instant, while those further out were missing limbs and bleeding out on the ground, crying for their parents.
The scene was almost unbearable to look at, with even the Yi River stained red with blood.
Fortunately, there were survivors. Lin Xuan struggled to get up from the ground, coughing violently and spitting out a mouthful of blood. His Flowing Origin Armor had some minor cracks and damage, but thankfully he was not seriously injured. After all, the Flowing Origin Armor was a top-grade mortal treasure, specially forged using Lin Hai Zhuang's unique method. With the infusion of Lin Xuan's source energy, its defensive power was maximized and it was not completely destroyed.
Although the power of dozens of puppets exploding exceeded the maximum limit of weakening attacks that the Flowing Original Armor could achieve, it was still weakened by as much as 70 to 80 percent of its power, and the remaining power was all hit on the body, which was not a threat to Lin Xuan's life, only causing him injuries. With the recovery ability of the Thunderbolt Demon Body, it would probably take no more than three days to fully restore it to its peak.
At the moment of the explosion, he once again spread his Wind Origin Feather Wings to protect the closest people around him. And in order to protect more people, he did not wrap himself up with his wings...and he wouldn't even consider whether or not his identity would be exposed at a time like this.
Meanwhile, Lin Xuan keenly sensed that the presence of skilled fighters around him was increasing, undoubtedly drawn by the tremendous commotion.
"Who are you? State your name!"
Soon, the city guards who were not affected by the turmoil rushed up again, brandishing their spears and longswords and shouting angrily at Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan didn't bother to waste time talking to them, and directly took out the patrolling badge to show his identity: "Qingtian Sect, Qingren Patroller, I was just fighting with the enemy who broke into Baoling Mountain to compete for treasures."
No one dared to question it. Many city guards looked at each other and seemed unwilling to negotiate with someone of such high status. As a super sect located in the Great Wasteland, the Qingtian Sect had great prestige even when facing these soldiers. Strictly speaking, characters like patrols could also command soldiers under the jurisdiction of the Great Wasteland Dynasty in times of crisis.
"The commander of the Chengwei Army in Dahuang City, Wu Xin," spoke up a burly leader with tiger-like posture, "sensed the source energy fluctuations from Baoling Mountain to this area. Lord He Jia ordered us to investigate and we humbly request that the patrol officer provide us with detailed information."
"I will report the specific matter to the Qingtian Sect and let them and the respected leaders explain. It's not the right time now. The important thing now is to save people." Lin Xuan frowned and said solemnly.
"The adult said," the commander Wu Xin responded quickly, then turned to direct, "You guys! Hurry and take all the wounded to the nearby clinic, and immediately report this matter!"
"There is one more thing, I want several of you to personally take charge of," Lin Xuan suddenly pointed at Wu Xin and said, "Immediately send someone to report to Lord He Jia. The instigator of this matter is a pre-natal consummate expert named Xie Ji who has many strange and diverse skills, including the ability to refine puppets. He just fled downstream of Yi River. The entire city must be immediately sealed off to prevent him from leaving the city!"
Wu Xin was slightly startled, and quickly nodded and left with his men.
"Now even if I chase after him, I can't catch up. Let's see if we can intercept that bastard inside the city..." Lin Xuan can only do this now. Then he looked around and said, "It seems that I don't need to help here. There are so many innate masters... if I, a patrol officer, personally transport the wounded, it may cause panic and chaos."
Helping or not doesn't matter to the outcome of the rescue mission. Lin Xuan immediately rushed back towards the direction of Bao Ling Mountain, still worried about Yi Xiaoshan and Yi Xiaoshui. He could guess that the puppets that raided Bao Ling Mountain had also been destroyed. Su Yao didn't need him to worry, even if Su Yao did nothing and let go of everything, he would not be blown up.
When he finally arrived at the black market, he sighed in relief that there was not much death or injury. Most people had already left before the explosion, and the Yi siblings were unharmed. The main of Baoling Mountain was supervising the rescue on site, and it seemed that Su Yao had instructed the young girl at the Tianxiang Building on that day and left behind a large number of elixirs before leaving. Lin Xuan estimated that many of the injured would be sent to the nearby Jihe Tang, and Su Yao should have hurried back to command the rescue. The situation over there was obviously much worse than here.
And the Baoling Mountain Master also encountered an explosion while chasing the puppet halfway, and fortunately he was there, which saved the surrounding civilians from harm.
His face looked very unsightly, but he still managed to talk to Lin Xuan and learned the whole story, saying, "Thank you, the patrol envoy, for helping Baoling Mountain arrest the mastermind. We have taken full responsibility for this incident."
Lin Xuan nodded his head and watched as the owner of Baoling Mountain left and went back to his busy work. Baoling Mountain was indeed in a pitiful state, but he didn't want to kick someone when they were down. Xie Ji obviously targeted the second-grade formation disk when it was being traded, causing most people to think that he was there to steal the formation disk. Then he would brazenly go and plunder the rare materials and treasures that he really wanted.
"Go and get the people from the Qingtian Sect to come and help," Lin Xuan turned and said to the siblings of the Yi family, "I and that scumbag fought all the way here and accidentally hurt some civilians. We must take care of them and apologize and compensate where necessary."
One is to save people, and the other is that if they don't do so, the Qingtian Sect will again be forced into the eye of the storm, despite the fact that the Qingren Patrol is pursuing the bad guys.
"How long do you need to say that? Everyone will be dead by then." Yi Xiaoshui hugged her arms and glanced at Lin Xuan, saying, "My brother and I have already notified them."
Lin Xuan was speechless. He had forgotten that the Yi siblings were not fools who needed him to tell them what to do next.
"That Qin Feng who came before wanted to discuss the specifics of the formation with you," Yi Xiaoshan said from the other side, "but he probably sensed that you were on your way to Yih River and was worried it might affect Jian Ge, so he went back to guard it first."
Lin Xuan thought for a moment before taking over the conversation and saying, "In that case, I will go to Jian Ge and try to work things out. Perhaps I can even meet with Qin Ran."
After infiltrating the Qing Lou and Kun Mu organizations and penetrating Jian Ge, it was time to talk to Qin Ran again. After all, the more allies the better. Now that Heng Ye Hou was being monitored, it was important to be able to move around the capital without suspicion, and the only person Lin Xuan could completely trust was Qin Ran.
Everyone has their own difficulties. Wu Luan's strength and identity make it difficult for him to gather information in the capital like Qin Ran.
……
"A Clear Sky Sect envoy?"
"You don't know him?"
Facing Qin Feng's question, Qin Ran stopped practicing his sword and thought carefully with a furrowed brow.
How does he know the inspector of the Qingtian Sect? Although he has many friends, the inspector of the Qingtian Sect doesn't seem to be among them. However, the only one among the people he knows who can establish a relationship with the Qingtian Sect is Lin Xuan.
"The disciple is not entirely sure, but can probably guess who it is." Qin Ran chuckled slightly with a long sword in hand, condensing source energy onto its blade to practice swordsmanship again.
Compared with his former self at Nanmu Mountain, Qin Ran's swordsmanship has greatly improved, thanks to breaking through to innate and possessing source energy. As source energy becomes more complete, progress is natural. Also, Qin Ran has extraordinary talent in swordsmanship during the period after birth, which makes it not difficult to quickly reach unity with all things after fully comprehending it. It is only a matter of time before he reaches the same realm as the Dust and the embryonic form of the Sword of Intent.
Ranked second on the prestigious “Hidden Dragon List”, Qin Ran’s reputation is well-earned. However, without the fortuitous encounter with the immortal at Nanmu Mountain, Qin Ran’s innate talent would have been far inferior to that of Lin Xuan. It was only his recent period of laziness that hindered his cultivation.
"If that's the case, it will truly be another fortunate event for my Jian Ge sect," Qin Feng couldn't help but feel excited upon hearing Qin Ran's affirmation, a faint smile appearing on his usually icy face, "This time, the patrol envoy has specifically come to collaborate with me in purchasing a second-grade formation treasure. It seems we can trust his sincerity."
"Second-grade Formation Treasure?" Qin Ran's hand paused, and he frowned slightly.
"With the Formation Treasure, we'll have enough power to guard the Sword Pass. We don't have to worry about anyone coming to challenge us again," Qin Feng nodded and then patted Qin Ran's shoulder. "Although it seems like we got the better end of the deal in this cooperation, your patrol friend must have had some difficulties to be willing to pay such a high price just to borrow the Formation Treasure. I'm sure the Sword Pass that he's cooperating with is also very grateful."
"Master, are you saying..." Qin Ran's heart sank.
"I also know that you've been down since His Royal Highness passed away, but we have to keep moving forward, and our sect can't stop either," Qin Feng said warmly and calmly. "From a bigger perspective, we need to repay Tian Sect's favor, and we can't ignore the benefits that come with it. Since you're his friend, you should help them out more and build stronger relationships, which will benefit both you and the Sword Pavilion."
It's the same again. Master ultimately still wants me to get close to those powerful and influential people, and strive for resources and benefits. Ultimately, regardless of whether there is friendship between him and Lin Xuan, alone, from the very beginning, his relationship with Huang Chengjun was also purely driven by interests.
"Master, I and Cheng Jun are now close friends, and I have made genuine relationships with other martial arts masters," Qin Ran put away her sword and faced Qin Feng with a calm expression, "but I feel guilty for approaching them with the purpose you had spoken of."
“秦然，你这是什么意思？”秦枫眉头一皱。
“师父的养育传道之恩，我秦然此生难报，只不过弟子实在不愿再去接近那些只为满足一己私欲的权贵小人，再这样下去为了剑阁崛起的资源而不顾一切，剑阁的未来迟早会因此而毁灭，”秦然不会说什么隐晦的暗喻让师父领悟，他今日就是想要说出这些，“再这样下去，剑阁迟早会沦为那些顶尖势力手中的一颗棋子，届时师父难道还能分得清是非吗？师父还如何面对明心见性的剑阁先辈？”
Furthermore, even if there is a second-grade formation treasure guarding Jian Ge, so what? Can it stop Dai Yufeng, can it stop the Kunmu organization, but against powerful round heaven experts, it can be easily broken? Should Jian Ge just lock itself up and ignore dangers? Is that still a sword heart that is fearless and always presses forward?
That Dai Yufeng is somewhat correct... Relying on plundering the weak or relying on the strong is not dependable, the only thing that is truly dependable is oneself.
Only by relying on one's own strength can Jian Ge truly be restored.
"Qin Ran, you have not experienced the destruction of Jiange and do not understand the reality of this Great Wilderness City," Qin Feng seemed to anticipate Qin Ran's attitude, he did not get angry but sighed and said, "Do you think I am willing to be subservient to others? If I could be in charge of everything, why bother being slick and compromising?"
As soon as Qin Feng finished speaking, a figure suddenly fell behind him. It was none other than Lin Xuan, wearing a patrol mask. Qin Ran didn't recognize him for the time being, but he didn't care. He shook his head lightly, turned around decisively, and walked away.
Regardless of whether he will help Lin Xuan in the future, or fulfill Cheng Jun's unfulfilled wishes, he will no longer be controlled by others, nor will he be forced into chaotic situations. He will never be forced to make difficult choices for others again. Since he wants to move forward, it will be his own voluntary decision.
Even if I have to take another path, even if I have to part ways with Qin Feng.