177: Chapter 177 Harvest

Lin Tian sat cross-legged on the shore, his back against a reef smoothed by the lake water.

He had spent nearly half an hour tangling with Moying under the water, consecutively utilizing the White Dragon in the Waves and the Divine Turtle Breathing Technique, and finally delivering a fatal blow with the Flying Knife in the Sleeve, depleting more than half of his Internal Energy.

He closed his eyes, and the Purple Qi Diagram slowly circulated within his body, as the depleted Internal Energy began to condense bit by bit from his Dantian.

A lake breeze blew past, and the moisture soaking his robes was evaporated by the heat radiating from his body into a thin layer of white mist.

About half an hour later, he opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of stale air; his Internal Energy had recovered by seventy to eighty percent.

He stood up, walked to the lakeshore, reached out to grab the collar of Moying's corpse floating on the water, and dragged it onto the shore.

Moying was thoroughly dead; the small knife wound in the center of his forehead was still oozing pale red blood. His eyes were half-open with unfocused pupils, and his thin, pale face still held the disbelief of his final moment before death.

Lin Tian searched his body. He found a stack of silver banknotes in his chest pocket with significant denominations, totaling over five thousand taels.

At his waist was a deerskin pouch containing three bottles of Medicinal Pills. He pulled out the stoppers and sniffed them—two bottles of Qi Gathering Pills, of High Grade quality, and another bottle of Blood Coagulation Pills for treating wounds. There was also a scroll, wrapped tightly in waterproof oilcloth.

Lin Tian unwrapped the oilcloth and unrolled the scroll. His gaze tightened slightly when it swept over the opening line—it was another Beast Taming Technique.

The content of this scroll was much the same as the one he had seen in the valley before, but at the end, it contained an additional section on how to use essence blood Restrictions to remotely control Vicious Beasts, which was more profound than the one seized in the valley.

He gathered the silver banknotes, Medicinal Pills, and the scroll into his own pack, then dragged Moying's corpse back to the lakeside.

The corpse made a dull splash as it entered the water. He drew his autumn water sword and struck the corpse's chest heavily with the flat of the blade—using the force-generating technique of the White Dragon in the Waves, a penetrating force passed through the water and pressed precisely onto the corpse.

Pushed by this force, Moying's corpse sank to the bottom of the lake, vanishing into the murky deep water along with his shredded robes and boots.

The ripples on the lake surface faded after a few moments, and the moonlight shimmered on the water, as if no one had ever been there.

He straightened up and was preparing to find a safe and hidden place to rendezvous with the two Elders and the other captains. He had not walked even a mile from the lakeshore when a series of hurried footsteps came from the dense forest ahead.

Lin Tian's hand immediately pressed onto the hilt of his autumn water sword, and he sidestepped behind an ancient pine tree as thick as a man's embrace, holding his breath and focusing his senses.

The footsteps grew closer. There were quite a few people, and their pace was orderly—not the chaotic running of The Black-Robed Man of the Demon Sect, but rather like well-trained Sect Disciples marching in formation. Then, a resonant male voice came from the woods: "There is someone ahead! Which fellow Disciple is that?"

Lin Tian stepped out from behind the tree. There were over a dozen people, all wearing the uniform of the Qixia Sect. The young man leading them was in his early thirties, tall and sturdy, with a broad-bladed golden saber hanging at his waist, the scabbard engraved with the cloud pattern mark of Jinxia Peak.

Behind him followed a dozen or so people, including saber wielders from Jinxia Peak, Sword Cultivators from Zixia Peak, and two Disciples from Bixia Peak carrying medicine chests. Each one had a steady aura, and all were experts of the Fourth Grade or above.

Lin Tian cupped his hands and said: "Lin Tian of Zixia Peak, Captain of Team 7 of the Yunhai Fishery. I was previously investigating traces of the Demon Sect deep in the Taixuan Mountain Range when I encountered a large force of the Demon Sect and was surrounded. I became separated from the Elders while breaking out."

Zhao Yue looked him up and down, his gaze lingering on the robes torn by thorns and his slightly pale face, before saying in a deep voice: "I am Zhao Yue of Jinxia Peak, ordered by the Sect to enter the mountains to assist you. Show me your Disciple token."

Lin Tian handed over the token.

Zhao Yue took the token, carefully inspected the cloud patterns and the Zixia Peak seal, and cross-referenced the name on the token with the rescue list issued by the Sect. After confirming everything was correct, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and returned the token to Lin Tian: "Junior Brother Lin, it is good that you are unharmed. The urgent report from Field Master Zhou arrived at the Sect the night before last, stating that you had lost contact after entering the mountains to investigate the Demon Sect's traces, so the Sect immediately dispatched three rescue teams into the mountains. What exactly did you encounter, and why are you here alone?"

Lin Tian quickly recounted his previous experiences—from discovering the Demon Sect's beast-taming stronghold in the valley, to the Demon Sect Elder leading a large force to hunt them down, and finally Elder Wu ordering them to break out in different directions.

When speaking about how he managed to shake off his pursuers, he only mentioned it lightly: "I was pursued by several Demon Sect Martial Artists and had to circle around in the mountains several times before I managed to lose them, and I was just preparing to go back to rendezvous with the Elders."

He did not mention Moying's name, nor did he mention that he had engaged in a life-or-death struggle with a Fourth Grade Demon Sect expert by the lake and ultimately killed him with a flying knife.

Firstly, he did not want to be too high-profile; he had already garnered enough attention at the Yunhai Fishery tournament, and there was no need to go around publicizing his own battle achievements.

Secondly, the spoils of war from Moying were still tucked away in his pack—the more complete scroll of the Beast Taming Technique, several thousand taels of silver banknotes, and three bottles of High Grade Medicinal Pills. If the Sect made him hand them over, he would be reluctant.

In any case, Moying's corpse was already at the bottom of the lake, leaving no proof, and saying he had shaken off his pursuers would leave no room for anyone to find fault.

Zhao Yue, as expected, did not harbor any suspicion.

In his eyes, Lin Tian was just a newcomer who had been in the Sect for less than two years. Although he had heard that Lin Tian had become a captain at the fishery, that was a position won through tournament fighting, which was a completely different matter from a real life-or-death battle against a Demon Sect expert.

Being able to escape alive was already quite difficult, and as for defeating a strong Demon Sect expert head-on—he hadn't even considered that possibility.

He reached out and patted Lin Tian's shoulder, his tone carrying the relief of someone who had been through it before: "It is good that you were able to shake off the Demon Sect people; it is only by luck that you were able to break out alive this time. Come, join us in searching for the other brothers."

The group continued forward. The people Zhao Yue brought were all experts carefully selected by the Sect; clearly, the Sect attached great importance to this rescue operation.

They searched rapidly along the ridgeline of the Taixuan Mountain Range. Lin Tian walked beside Zhao Yue and pointed out the directions in which the previous captains had dispersed to break out, one by one.

"Captain Jiang He went to the east; the terrain there is a rocky ridge."

"Captain Liu Yun went to the west; after passing through a thicket of vines, there is a stream, and he likely retreated downstream along the stream. Captain Meng Ping went toward the southern hillside, where there is a natural cave nearby that can be used for hiding."

"The two Elders covered the rear and retreated toward the high ground in the northwest."

Zhao Yue listened while quickly marking the map, then decisively ordered the troops to split into three groups.

Several captains took men to search in different directions, while he himself took Lin Tian and the remaining people and rushed toward the nearest rocky ridge to the east.