Cultivators Are So Weak in This World-Chapter 32: The Fallout of Qinghe Palace

Qinghe Palace.

Inside the surveillance room.

Chen Zihan gently brushed away the dust from his Taoist robe and took his favorite longsword from the wooden rack in front of him.

He smoothly drew the blade, which was engraved with intricate cloud patterns.

He sighed softly.

This sword was personally given to him by Xiao Rong many years ago, and now, he must use it to send his old friend off.

"In this world, many things are beyond one’s control..."

"Something’s wrong! Master!" Suddenly, a disciple’s urgent shout came from outside the door.

"What’s the matter?" Chen Zihan asked displeasingly. He hated being disturbed when he was resting and thinking.

This could seriously affect his mood.

"The institute has gone down the mountain with a group of people, also, an insider just sent a message that troops from Huaxin County’s local office are appearing! I’m afraid they’re all going for Senior Brother Chen Wuyou!" The disciple hastily explained.

"Local office... Chen Tan...?..." Chen Zihan’s expression subtly changed. If it were just the institute, he could handle it, but Chen Tan personally mobilizing changes the situation entirely.

This means he certainly possesses absolute evidence. Otherwise, Qinghe Palace, affiliated with Great Dao Teaching and governed by Jixian Institute, wouldn’t be dealt with by local troops.

After musing for a moment, he sheathed the longsword again.

"Pack up your things, follow me down the mountain."

"Master, where are we going?"

"Let’s go down the mountain first and assess the situation." Chen Zihan had a vague sense of foreboding.

He knew a little about his son’s setup and also tacitly approved of the plan against his old friend Xiao Rong.

Because his main focus was on competing for the Palace Master position, he had no time to manage this.

Moreover, he arranged quite a few insiders and cultivated many loyal followers within Qinghe Palace.

Even if his son failed, it would be like a lizard shedding its tail, not implicating him.

But still....

That was his son after all....

After quickly packing up, Chen Zihan led a team of surveillance personnel, swiftly descending the mountain towards the direction where the signal fireworks had exploded earlier.

But they had only covered half the path.

Amidst a woodland slope, he abruptly halted....

On the slope, two corpses with twisted and severed necks were clearly presented before him.

The morning light, filtered through the branches, fragmented into countless pieces, falling upon the grass, rocks, and the two lifeless bodies.

The corpses were like random branches, fallen leaves, and animal bones in the forest, being gnawed at by what looked like two black-backed wolves.

Chen Zihan’s body wavered, his eyes slightly red, revealing a hint of pain in his pupils.

He slowly approached, and when he was ten meters away, his body suddenly lunged forward, rapidly striking one of the wolves heavily from above with a single palm.

Puff.

The wolf was caught off guard, unable to defend, and immediately collapsed with a broken waist.

The other wolf fled in fright, disappearing into the forest in an instant.

Chen Zihan came to his son Chen Wuyou’s corpse.

He reached out, gently grasping the fatal neck wound of his son, comparing handprints. He also glanced at Jiao Teng’s corpse beside it.

"Master... What do we do now...?" asked a few trembling disciples behind him.

"Take the bodies to the county; someone will help us avenge." Chen Zihan’s voice was somber.

By this time, how could he not realize that his influence in Qinghe Palace was gone?

His son is dead, the institute led by Tang Sha has gone down the mountain, and there’s an insider leading troops from the local office...

It all proves one thing.

Tang Sha, that old rascal, has thoroughly overturned the table.

The situation at Qinghe Palace was caught in the act, and Chen, the ever-neutral local official, has chosen to support Tang Sha.

The palace master position will be without suspense in the future.... Since that’s the case, it makes no difference whether he stays or not.

"Let’s go!" Chen Zihan decisively picked up the body and swiftly moved towards the base of the mountain.

This game was lost here, but there might be a chance for a comeback with his wife in the county! At that time.... This vendetta for his son’s death....

*

*

*

"Quick, save him!" Zhang Rongfang rushed breathlessly, carrying Zhao Datong, into the pill room.

The two attendant junior Daoists in the pill room didn’t dare delay, swiftly moving forward to take Zhao Datong.

They lifted him, carefully placing him on the treatment table inside, lowering the curtain for the Kun Dao to start the healing.

Outside the door, Zhang Rongfang exhaled a long breath.

He had brought the person back, and whether Senior Sister would survive this ordeal now depended on fate....

He didn’t expect that as soon as he left, Chen Wuyou would take action and Jiao Teng would be completely on Chen Wuyou’s side.

On the halfway journey, if not for his feigned weakness and ambush, he would have been no match for them in a direct confrontation.

Sitting on a stone stool outside the pill room, Zhang Rongfang rolled up his sleeves, revealing two distinct swellings on his forearms.

These were the scars left when he forcefully broke Jiao Teng’s blocking move.

"In the end, though I have pushed my Mountain-shaped Talisman to its limit, my body doesn’t perfectly utilize Heavy Mountain.

This ultimate lethal move doesn’t just cause great harm to the enemy, but also considerable damage to myself under counterforce. I have to use it cautiously."

Zhang Rongfang sat on the stone stool, watching the pilgrims coming and going on the main road leading to Profound Heart Hall, gradually feeling a sense of peace.

No matter what, he had done his best.

He didn’t wait long before a junior Daoist from the pill room came out and quietly spoke to him.

Zhang Rongfang’s tense expression relaxed slightly.

Senior Sister Zhao Datong wasn’t in life-threatening danger, just suffering from excessive blood loss and numerous injuries, requiring rest.

Additionally, there’s concern about infections in the wounds, but these can be addressed later.

There’s no issue for now.

"How is Senior Sister doing now? Is she awake?" Zhang Rongfang asked.

"Senior Sister Zhao is still in a coma. If all goes well, she might wake up after resting for a few hours. We’ve already given her internal medicine for healing, and Golden Wound Medicine," the young Daoist replied softly.

"That’s good..." Zhang Rongfang nodded.

"Junior Brother Rongfang!" Suddenly, a voice called out from not far away.

It was Zhang Xintai.

He had a shallow cut on his cheek, his robe was mostly intact, but the sleeve of his right arm had a long tear.

"Senior Brother Xintai." Zhang Rongfang’s heart moved as he quickly went up to meet him.

"Do you know where I’ve just been? What I’ve done?" Zhang Xintai’s face was serious.

"Please enlighten me, Senior Brother," Zhang Rongfang clasped his hands in respect.

Immediately, Zhang Xintai recounted everything that had just happened, including Xiao Rong’s death, Xiao Qingying’s abduction, Chen Wuyou’s disappearance, and Jiao Teng’s betrayal of Xiao Rong, among a series of changes.

Listening to this, Zhang Rongfang was dumbfounded. After hearing everything, his heart was filled with silence, fear, and he didn’t know what to think of Xiao Rong and his daughter.

"What will become of Senior Sister Xiao?"

Zhang Xintai gently shook his head.

"Her father has some friends in the Daoist Palace, and after the Dean became Palace Master, he will look after her a bit. But..."

Zhang Rongfang also understood, knowing that Xiao Qingying, now fatherless, had lost him through the betrayal of the one she most loved.

She was also the indirect cause of her father’s death.

Being kidnapped by mountain bandits, even if she is truly innocent, she can no longer be considered pure.

Such a series of blows...

The once willful and arrogant young lady... perhaps...

"Do you want to visit her?" Zhang Xintai asked.

"...Forget it. Whether I go or not, it makes no difference." Zhang Rongfang shook his head.

He then recounted how he went down the mountain to buy medicine and discovered the situation with Senior Sister Zhao Dacong.

Zhang Xintai said nothing, just patted his shoulder and went into the alchemy room to treat his facial injuries.

*

*

*

The death of Xiao Rong and the disappearance of the Chen family father and son caused a huge stir in Qinghe Palace.

The entire Qinghe Palace, excluding the minor workers, only had over a hundred Daoists, with martial cultivators making up only a third.

The power of the Chen family father and son took up a third of these thirty martial cultivators.

After Dean Tang Sha’s purge, many martial cultivators left by the Chen family voluntarily surrendered.

A small portion of former loyalists were directly expelled from the Daoist register and driven down the mountain.

Thus, the number of martial cultivators in Qinghe Palace quickly reduced to just over twenty.

This small number meant that, aside from those guarding the Daoist Palace, there weren’t enough left to rotate to the county outposts.

Dean Tang Sha was forced to adopt a method of having one martial cultivator lead a team with minor disciples, forming new patrols.

To enhance the Daoist Palace’s security, Tang Sha further allocated some martial cultivators who hadn’t reached a certain grade to serve at the Huaxin County outpost.

He also began selecting new disciples from the minor workers for cultivation.

In such a state, Qinghe Palace very slowly began to recover its vitality.

Winter came and went.

In the blink of an eye, it was a new year.

Bam!

Zhang Rongfang and Zhang Xintai both stepped back, sweat vapor faintly rising from their heads.

"Again!" Zhang Rongfang didn’t use the Dragon and Snake Ascension Skill, only relying on the Mountain-shaped Talisman and Morning Energy Talisman for the duel.

Compared to over a month ago, his proficiency with the Morning Energy Talisman had increased significantly.

The Morning Energy Talisman, combined with the Mist Smoke Step, allowed him to exhibit a flickering, elusive effect in his movements.

This is the core of the Morning Energy Talisman, reputed as the most powerful in the Rejuvenation Purification Talisman Manual.

"Good!" Zhang Xintai smiled slightly, his hands swinging in circles repeatedly, precisely catching the incoming moves.

This is the Spirit Gathering Talisman, one of the two talismanic skills he has mastered beyond the limit.

As a second-grade fighter, his speed and strength were slightly superior to Zhang Rongfang’s.

During the exchanges, blocking and counterattacking felt natural and smooth. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Although the name Spirit Gathering Talisman sounds pleasant, its main focus is to extract a bit of true spirit from the opponent.

The true spirit of this talismanic skill lies in the eyes.

Therefore, every move of the Spirit Gathering Talisman targets the opponent’s eyes.

Spirit Gathering, Spirit Gathering, it collects from the eyes.

This set of talismanic skills has fewer flaws than the Mountain-shaped Talisman, with light and nimble yet subtle moves.

After just over ten moves, Zhang Rongfang was caught off guard, a flaw exploited, and a move struck a few centimeters in front of his eyes.

Zhang Xintai’s hand paused in front of Zhang Rongfang’s eyelids, smiled slightly, and withdrew it.

"Very good, you’ve become much more proficient with the Morning Energy Talisman than before. Once your steps are understood, it’s about slowly training them into body instincts, then you’re considered to be starting."

He paused.

"By the way, how is your progress with breaking the limit of the Mountain-shaped Talisman?"

"I haven’t quite figured it out yet... but it should be soon," Zhang Rongfang exhaled.

He had to plan his timing for breaking through to avoid being too conspicuous and attracting jealousy and suppression.

Sparring with Zhang Xintai made him more aware of his own level.

Facing a master with talisman skills cultivated to the second grade, if he didn’t rely on a surprise attack, he wasn’t certain he could win in a direct confrontation.

The secret technique of the Heavy Mountain, he could only use it twice in a short period, after which his arms would become fatigued and powerless. If he missed his target both times and couldn’t solve the opponent, he would be the one to lose.