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Chapter 229: The Court's Edict
🕑 Added 2024-09-22 03:40:53 +0000 UTCAnd so, by the time Wei Hai, who had just begun to enjoy the prestige of being the sect leader of Shangyang Sect, learned of the Lingxian Sect, it was already the Major Cold season.
The next day would be New Year's Eve.
Outside, the world was already frozen solid.
At that time, Wei Hai was busy squandering the sect's treasury. Although Elder Jin had taken many valuable items, most of those were rare treasures stored in a little-known secret vault. However, the main treasury, which housed a vast amount of basic cultivation resources, was something Wei Hai had seized as soon as he took control of the sect, and the others didn't dare risk going near it.
Shangyang Sect had accumulated wealth for hundreds of years, and the amount of resources stored in the main vault was indeed considerable. At the very least, the number of spirit stones alone was significant. Not to mention the various other items, many of which Wei Hai, even as a Nascent Soul rogue cultivator, had never had the opportunity to use.
Despite his current cultivation level, Wei Hai was among the poorest Nascent Soul cultivators. He had been sitting on a spirit stone mine for years but had refrained from using it, hoping to exchange it for a significant advantage when he eventually attempted to break through to the Divine Transformation stage.
Thus, he had always lived quite frugally. While the Shangyang Sect's treasury couldn’t fully compensate for the loss of his spirit stone mine, he was still very satisfied with it. Of course, if he could recover his mine, that would be even better.
It was frustrating that the Shangyang Sect members were too tight-lipped to reveal the location of the mine. As he casually tossed handfuls of nourishing or enhancement pills into his mouth like candy, Wei Hai mulled over his situation.
Just then, a disciple's voice echoed from outside the room:
"Sect Leader, the imperial court has sent another edict."
Hearing this, Wei Hai felt a wave of irritation. What a bother. Although he had taken over Shangyang Sect, he had no intention of being a diligent and responsible leader. Developing the sect was the last thing on his mind. He simply wanted to enjoy the prestige of being the sect leader for a while and claim the sect’s treasury for himself. Once he had exhausted the resources and tired of the position, he would leave without a second thought.
As for the spirit stone mine, he had carefully investigated it and concluded that Shangyang Sect likely didn’t possess the means to relocate an entire mine and surrounding rock formations. Such spatial formations were beyond the capabilities of a small sect like Shangyang, even in the cultivation world.
He suspected that the spirit stone mine had been handed over to the sect's backers in the cultivation world. Wei Hai was well aware that most sects in the mortal realm maintained some form of connection with sects in the cultivation world. However, he also knew that those higher-level sects didn’t place much importance on their mortal counterparts, leading to infrequent contact.
Thus, he wasn’t particularly concerned that someone from the cultivation world would come after him for taking over Shangyang Sect. By the time those backers did make contact, if they even cared to intervene, he would have long since fled.
Furthermore, sects like Shangyang typically weren’t backed by the top-tier sects in the cultivation world. The larger sects wouldn’t bother with them. Only mid-sized sects would want to flaunt their superiority by associating with such minor sects in the mortal realm. Even if the sect leader was at the Divine Transformation stage, they wouldn't be bothered to chase him across the land over a small sect like Shangyang.
For these reasons, Wei Hai felt secure in his position. Whenever the court sent an edict, he would glance at it, grasp the general idea, and then dismiss it without further thought, simply biding his time until he grew bored and left.
But now, feeling a bit bored, he decided to indulge in reading this latest message, curious to see what trivial matters the imperial court had for him this time.
"Bring it in," he commanded.
A disciple entered, presenting the edict with a mix of reverence and fear. Lazily reclining on a luxurious chaise, Wei Hai took the document and casually opened it.
At first, he skimmed the text indifferently. But after reading a few lines, he abruptly sat up, his expression turning serious as he focused on the content.
"A new sect, Lingxian Sect? And it’s located in a village under the jurisdiction of Liaojufu?"
Ten years ago, when he returned to check on his spirit stone mine, he had taken the time to gather information on Hufang Province. Back then, he had heard nothing about such a sect. Furthermore, the Pusi Kingdom already had three established sects. How could a new sect suddenly emerge?
The mortal nation didn’t have enough resources to support so many sects. Moreover, Hufang Province already had Shangyang Sect. How could they tolerate the rise of another sect under their watch?
The imperial court seemed intent on placing this new sect alongside the existing three, creating a new "Four Great Sects."
Wei Hai furrowed his brow, feeling increasingly uneasy.
In a flash of realization, he recalled the interrogation of Jin Nanhuan, the disciple involved in the spirit stone mine incident. Jin had persistently claimed innocence, insisting he had never seen the mine and that when he tried to investigate, the cave was already filled with rock. Jin also mentioned that the true savior of the children was someone else and that he had fabricated his involvement to claim credit. He claimed not to know this savior.
At the time, Wei Hai had dismissed Jin's words as lies, thinking he was merely a scapegoat. But now, after reading the court's edict, he wondered if there might be some truth to Jin's story.
If Jin had been telling the truth, then the one who stole his mine was likely the person who saved the children. And that person might be the one who used the mine's resources to establish this new Lingxian Sect.
Could it be that his spirit stone mine wasn’t lost to some distant sect in the cultivation world but was instead right here in this newly emerged sect in the mortal realm?
If that were the case, his lost mine could be reclaimed.
The thought of regaining his mine, in addition to the resources he had already seized from Shangyang Sect, set Wei Hai's heart ablaze with excitement.
Without hesitation, he summoned several Foundation Establishment disciples. After feeding them each a few poison pills, he commanded:
"Listen carefully. You will immediately head out and locate the exact whereabouts of this Lingxian Sect in Liaojufu. Report back to me within five hours."
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