Hou Niao was still there cursing and swearing under his breath when five figures appeared in the mist, three of them on alert not far from the poplar tree, and two others heading straight towards him. One of them whipped out a Flying Ring while the other leaped directly onto the tree—what on earth made them so determined to target him?
As the Flying Ring and the fierce-looking man approached simultaneously, Hou Niao felt a surge of panic but was unable to react; he inwardly sighed as one crisis had barely passed before another arose. How much more danger would there be?
Feeling at a loss for what to do, he suddenly sensed a tree branch snap behind his head, followed by a streak of white light!
It was the silent, pale-faced scholar who had been hiding above where Hou Niao was concealed. He now swooped down, slashing with his longsword as if to cut down everything in his path with a formidable might.
The man who was leaping onto the tree was caught off guard, too late to retreat. He had no choice but to brace himself and hold firm, releasing a golden light from the Talisman he had prepared, which clashed with the descending sword energy amid a thunderous scream.
Hou Niao watched with rapt attention, not expecting that the Flying Ring originally aimed at him would still strike the branch he was hiding on, even though the scholar had deflected its trajectory. And so, with one stroke, three men fell—a dead one, a living one, and one lying flat.
For the first time, Hou Niao felt grateful for the thick layer of leaves, which had cushioned most of the impact of his fall. Had it not been for them, even just this one fall could have easily resulted in serious injury, if not worse.
Lying again among the dirt and fallen leaves, an intense battle unfolded not far from him, with explosions from various Techniques and even more sword Energies slashing through all resistance!
Due to the angle of his fall, he could not observe the full extent of the battlefield, only catching glimpses of the combat between several individuals, whose mysteries he could not completely grasp. The only thing he was sure of was that these "friends" each possessed their own Skills, but those four men were all swordsmen, without exception!
The battle had been sudden and fierce, and it ended just as quickly; within a few dozen breaths, several "friends" fled in a panic while those four assailants seemed as if nothing significant had occurred.
The voice of the chubby one, "Don't pursue a desperate foe. The Poplar Forest is full of traps. We ambushed them this time, but we can't have them turn the tables and ambush us—that'd be the joke on us."
The robust Brother Liang muttered discontentedly, "We only managed to cut down three but let two escape. How could just two people lay an ambush for us?"
Rustling sounds from around suggested they were cleaning up the battlefield. Once everything was settled, Brother Liang chuckled and said, "Elder brother, what should we do with this Daoist Sect culprit? If you ask me, why not just finish him off with one stroke—saves time and effort..."
Another voice replied, "No! Our Quanzhen Sect slays with integrity, never punishing without teaching, first. What's there to fear from a mere novice who's barely begun Energy Induction? This is not a convenient place; why not take him with us and discuss it later?"
The burly man grumbled, "You all eat 'lamp wick ashes' and let 'carefree farts'! Take him with us? And who ends up carrying him on their back? Me!"
With a heavy stomp coming towards him, Hou Niao felt all bindings lift from his body; this time, however, he did not resist nor seek revenge because he had already determined that these four were from the Demon Sect's legitimate lineage in Shan Country's Da Feng Plain, the Quanzhen Sect.
Essentially, the entirety of Shan Country was under the control of the Quanzhen Sect, just as the Daoist Sect controlled Anhe Country.
Now that he had found his mark, the remaining question was how to join them. He wondered whether this experience would turn out to be a blessing or a curse for him.
Hearing their unabashed conversation, as if he were nothing more than an item of property, Hou Niao was well aware he had no right to refuse as the weaker party. He chose not to provoke them unduly; these were unreasonable fellows, truly merciless, and he saw no sign of compassion within them.
The three corpses were carelessly piled up, stripped of their belongings. From his perspective, it was unclear who was the thief and who was the officer.
He wisely raised no objections because in the eyes of these people, he was also considered part of the spoils of war.
The four men led him out of the Poplar Forest. Hou Niao was still puzzled as to why that Liang Junior Brother had said about carrying him on his back. Couldn't he just be placed on horseback?
But there were no horses! These people were all running on foot!
He didn't believe these people couldn't afford horses, so there was only one possible explanation—these people were used to, or rather, were required not to use mounts?
The four of them lined up in a row, the pale-faced scholar in the lead, followed by the fat man, the burly man carrying him on his back, and the skinny pole bringing up the rear. Once they started running, dust billowed and the rumble was imposing. They really managed to evoke the momentum of a herd of galloping horses.
Moreover, their speed was not a bit inferior to that of swift horses—indeed, it was even greater!
Hou Niao, secured on the broad back of the strong man, didn't feel any jostling at all. It was even steadier than riding on a horseback; this was a very special sprinting technique, somewhat like the Mortal World's Light Body Skill, yet very different.
What was most peculiar was that whether it was the Mortal World's Light Body Skill or the Cultivation World's Tunneling Skill, the better methods all emphasized the time spent leaping and flying through the air. The further one could leap, the faster the speed, until one could fly without touching the ground.
But these four had a method that was exactly the opposite. They always maintained one foot on the ground, as if dragging it along, which made their posture look extremely clumsy. It was precisely because of this that they kicked up such a big stir on the ground, like plowing the earth!
A strange Quanzhen Sect, strange cultivation techniques, strange people!
After running for two hours in such a manner, the four men showed no sign of slowing down. They seemed to grow more vigorous as they ran. Hou Niao could feel the surging spiritual power coursing through the man's body, like water boiling increasingly fierce on a stove.
They still had energy to spare when they reached their destination.
It was a large town or maybe a small city. Hou Niao couldn't describe it because this human settlement lacked city walls and distinct streets. If all the buildings were replaced with felt tents, he would be more inclined to believe it was a gathering place for nomadic tribes, but this was indeed made of brick and tile constructions, not at all inferior to Anhe Country in terms of architectural level.
The only difference was that the buildings in Anhe Country mainly used wood as the construction material, exquisite and elegant; here, it was all about bluestone and large tiles, revealing a sense of weightiness and simplicity. These were two different styles.
This clearly was their stronghold. As they slowed down, nearly every person they encountered greeted them, irrespective of gender, age, and even many children who came up to ask for sweets.
Hou Niao used to be a grassroots official, and he could tell from the bright smiles on these people's faces that they were genuine, not feigned. This made him sigh in his heart; such a sect with a solid foundation could not be easily shaken, much like the Daoist Sect's position in Anhe Country.
It also indicated that his undercover mission was going to face many practical difficulties—not just in action but also emotionally.
He would rather have infiltrated a cultivation power that oppressed the people because that would give him sufficient resolve in his sense of justice. But if the locals here were also living happily, what reason would he have to harm their interests after a long time?
That was the biggest problem.
He could only console himself that perhaps this was a hurdle destined on his path of cultivation. Maybe the distinction between demon and Dao wasn't so clear-cut?
...Encountering demons increases Dao power, illness brings enlightenment on the transient life.