Demon Sword Sect's Undercover-Chapter 524 - 523 Northern Journey 1

Hou Niao was one who would not wait overnight to seek revenge. Well, the result was that he took revenge all night long.

As Rao Zongzhi had said, among friends, if you give me shoes, I give you a hat in return. It’s only proper and fair to exchange gifts.

He needed someone who understood King Wucheng’s Manor, and Xiao Qiang was the perfect candidate. As for morality, the issue of Daoist couples wasn’t so strictly observed in the Cultivation World. Such matters were common and unremarkable. The ancestor of Dao had said, "When three walk together, my teacher is among them." It was always good to exchange ideas.

A night spent weeding left one feeling clear-headed and invigorated; as he walked into Sikong Mansion with a triumphant smile, he immediately exemplified the saying that happiness never comes in pairs.

Judge Cheng called him over, "There is a mission that requires you to make a trip to the Northern lands."

Hou Niao was not too surprised. Having rested for so long, it was his turn to get to work. Sikong Mansion did not keep idle people and was acknowledged as the busiest among the three mansions.

A jade scroll was handed to him. It was typical to receive a background introduction like this when assigned a mission—encompassing environment, characters, power entanglements, historical reasons, and so on. Sikong Mansion did a thorough job in this regard, helping cultivators to quickly grasp the environment they would be entering and facilitating the completion of their tasks.

"Two months ago, something interesting happened in an Earth Clan tribe located between the Yuan Yi Mountain Range and the Northeast Yaoguang Mountain Range in the Northern lands. During a tribal prayer, a heavenly artifact descended, unlike any other.

The news that has reached us is that the artifact is called the Earth Spirit Pearl, and it is mysteriously magical..."

Hou Niao laughed, "Hiding such a crime in plain sight, don’t these Earth Clansmen know how to conceal anything?"

Judge Cheng shook his head, "The Earth Clansmen didn’t recognize the treasure, so they had the nearby cultivators identify it. This identification brought a lot of trouble, and the news quickly spread. Various forces started sending people. Everyone’s intention was to claim the treasure for themselves."

Hou Niao was puzzled. "According to the principle of proximity, doesn’t Quanzhen Sect have cultivators from Sima Mansion undergoing trials in the Northern lands? How did a matter like this still fall on Sikong Mansion?"

The duties of the three mansions were clearly defined; Sikong Mansion’s main tasks were to suppress traitors internally and act as spies externally. Matters like competing for treasures or resources were generally handled by representatives of Sima Mansion or Situ Mansion, quite distinctly.

Judge Cheng sighed, "That’s the principle, indeed. In reality, Sima Mansion also sent people nearby to the Earth Clan tribe for investigation, but they are short on manpower. Most of the disciples on trial are in the Yuan Yi Mountain Range, and it’s troublesome to call them back.

Normally, even if support was to be sent, it should be the people from Sima Mansion who go. However, Sima Mansion has recently been short on manpower. Most importantly, there seems to be news that some sword cultivators from Sima Mansion have been guarding and stealing for themselves. In this case, it’s just convenient to have Sikong Mansion send someone—not only to search for the treasure but also to investigate."

Hou Niao asked further, "So is it about seizing the treasure or dealing with the guardians who have turned thieves?"

Judge Cheng gave him a sidelong glance, "Watch your language. It’s about searching for treasure, not seizing it. Of course, the higher-ups want everything to be done if possible, to give them peace of mind. But for Sikong Mansion, the most important thing is to supervise the conduct of our own sect’s cultivators. As for whether we can retrieve the treasure, that primarily falls on Sima Mansion, not us. Do you understand?"

Hou Niao curled his lip, wanting to be a bandit while playing the saint. Such were the faces of those old masters above.

Judge Cheng rebuked him, "What attitude is that? Are you dissatisfied with the internal arrangements of our sect?

Let me tell you, there are quite a few cultivators from different factions heading there this time, eyeing this treasure; several well-known large sects among them. So our principle is to try to ’borrow’ from these people if possible, and it’s best not to snatch directly from the Earth Clansmen. The causality involved is entirely different."

Hou Niao couldn’t help but laugh and cry, "I get it, don’t bite the first piece; we go for the underhanded moves!"

Judge Cheng looked at him, not understanding how a seemingly good matter could sound as if Quanzhen Sect was a den of thieves when it came out of this guy’s mouth?

"We are helping the Earth Clansmen! We help them reclaim the treasure and return it to its rightful owner. However, considering they might not be able to guard the treasure, we will keep it on their behalf for a while!

This mountain region is part of the protected areas within the framework of the Continent. Humans and Yaoguang Earth Clan members have an agreement not to allow cultivators above the Golden Core stage to enter, which is why this task has fallen on you cultivators of the Tongtian Realm."

The Yaoguang Earth Clan is a very special race on the Jinxiu Continent; there are countless tribal communities on the Jinxiu Continent, but they generally take human form, with minor differences only in skin color, pupils, hair quality, physical constitution, among others, effectively making no fundamental distinction.

But the Yaoguang Earth Clan were Winged People, with wings on their backs, significantly different from normal humans. Of course, having wings didn’t mean they could fly. Perhaps due to degeneration or the environmental conditions of the Jinxiu Continent, they could only flutter a short distance in the air, like the difference between birds and chickens.

For this reason, they are not considered true human kin in the human world. Fortunately, the Yaoguang Earth Clan never venture out of the mountains and live only on their own turf, so they don’t have much presence on the Continent.

What prompted the cultivation world of the Continent to enter into a non-aggression pact with the Yaoguang Earth Clan is a very distant matter now, impossible to retrace. But one fact is that cultivators are not allowed to enter the Yaoguang Mountains, especially those at the Golden Core and Nascent Transformation stages.

It is a strict constraint imposed by the Continent’s various Daoist lineages upon their disciples. It is said that any violation would bring disasters upon their sects.

Considering that the Earth Clan could receive a treasure like the Earth Spirit Pearl from their prayers, it’s clear that the Yaoguang clan is indeed favored by Heavenly Dao. At least many Daoist lineages on the Continent haven’t been known to receive such precious rewards from prayers.

"Contact the disciples from Sima Mansion who have arrived earlier. You have the authority to control their actions. Without escalating the situation, try to retrieve the treasure. Also, as for the message about some members of Sima Mansion turning traitors, you must try to clarify the details. The information received from Sima Mansion is vague; we can’t yet make an accurate judgment."

Hou Niao nodded, "I’ll set off right away, hoping to catch up in time."

Judge Cheng waved his hand, "This mission isn’t difficult and doesn’t have any stringent requirements; it’s just an ordinary merit level. But if you can retrieve the Earth Spirit Pearl, that would be a great feat. Work hard."

Turning to leave, Hou Niao then looked back at the door, "I’ve heard that the greatest sect of the Demon Sect in the Northern lands, the Lian Sect of the Annihilation Dao, seems to have entered the fray, and there’s also a Buddhist Daoist lineage involved. So, how should our relations be with them?"

Judge Cheng didn’t answer directly, "The Annihilation Dao of Lian Sect doesn’t follow the same path as our Quanzhen Sect, so there’s no need to be overly cautious. As for the Buddhist Sect, they see everything as predetermined by Buddha’s will. They need to understand correctly what true destiny is."