Chapter 230 – The Truth-seeking Society (1/2)

“Benevolent be the first senior brother!” “No wonder senior brother is already destined to become the future sect master!” “Our Pheasant’s Grace mountain will definitely end up leading the three mountains!” “What leading the three mountains? With first senior brother’s talent, it’ll be a piece of cake for him to condense a golden core and turn the Pheasant’s Grace mountain into a mid level sect.”

Among all the flattery, Song Ming also said in a hurry, “Thank you, first senior brother.” However, he knew very well that if it were not for the sake of a hundred treasures pouch worth several thousand spiritual stones, his arrogant first senior brother would have never stood up for him. If the first senior brother even had a minute of spare time, he would spend it all on cultivation.

The snow began to fall again.

The spring water gurgled, flowing beneath the frozen snow, which was why it was called the Quiet Spring.

Under the embrace of the snowy mountains, several delicate houses sat within a small valley. It seemed like a settlement in wonderland. A few Qi Practitioners with loose robes and tight sashes walked around elegantly and gracefully, talking and drinking with one another. They were as cheerful as they could get.

Suddenly, everyone turned around. A huge figure emerged from the forest. His steps were heavy, completely lacking the elegance and grace of Qi Practitioners. Just like a vicious beast had emerged from the forest, the Qi Practitioners all raised their guard.

“Who are you? This is the base of the Truth-seeking society.”

Li Qingshan said loudly, “I’ve come to see Han Xiong.” His voice boomed through the entire valley.

Han Xiong emerged from a hut and beamed with joy as soon as he saw Li Qingshan. “Fellow Niu, you’ve finally come!”

Li Qingshan nodded. “I’ve come to take a look.”

Han Xiong introduced him to the Qi Practitioners in a hurry. When they heard he was the infamous Niu Juxia, all of them were amazed. They looked at one another and smiled before gathering in the largest hut with Li Qingshan.

The hut had a timber floor. Everyone sat on the ground. There was a charcoal fire at the centre, which currently heated some alcohol and cooked some food. Warmth and a delicious fragrance filled the entire room.

To be able to find such a place in this snowy weather, even Li Qingshan relaxed slightly.

Han Xiong said, “Please wait, sir. I’ll go fetch the leader of our association.”

A while later, even more Qi Practitioners entered, approximately twenty of them. A group of Qi Practitioners all chattered away at Li Qingshan at the same time, filled with great enthusiasm. Two female cultivators even delivered a bowl of warm alcohol and a serving of soup filled with meat.

Li Qingshan sniffed it and praised, “Nice alcohol!” He drank all of it and ate all the meat, but he said nothing more.

However, Li Qingshan seemed to ignore all of it. He sat by the fire like a statue, allowing the swaying firelight to project his shadow onto the wall.

Before long, Han Xiong brought an old man over. The old man was as skinny as a monkey, but he wore a set of large, spacious robes for a daoist priest. He really did seem like he had stolen them from somewhere. Han Xiong had to bend over in order to whisper into his ear.

However, the independent cultivators all seemed to respect him very much. When they saw him enter, they all called out, “Leader!”

Li Qingshan looked over as well. A seventh layer Qi Practitioner was quite a rare master among these independent cultivators. Apart from the old man, there were two sixth layer Qi Practitioners too. The three of them seemed to be the leaders of these people.

Han Xiong said in a hurry, “Fellow Niu, this is the leader of our Truth-seeking society, priest Qiu.” Seeing how Li Qingshan had no intention to greet him, he became slightly awkward.

Slurp, slurp. Li Qingshan had his head lowered to drink the alcohol. Who knew what he was thinking.

Priest Qiu conveniently closed the door, and the whistling wind and snow from outside immediately subsided. This room seemed to have become a sealed world of its own.

Afterwards, he chuckled. “You must be fellow Niu, right? Most esteemed greetings from this lowly priest!” He was completely unfazed by Li Qingshan’s rudeness.

Li Qingshan nodded slightly. “Hi.”

Priest Qiu said, “Your presence truly is an honour to our humble Truth-seeking society. We’ve gathered many people of virtue today as well, so we definitely won’t disappoint you.”

Li Qingshan said, “I’m just taking a look.”

Priest Qiu also sat down by the fire. “Hehe, it’s fine if you just want to take a look. Let me tell you about our Truth-seeking society’s purpose. By truth-seeking, we mean…”

He went on a long ramble, giving an impassioned speech. He said something like everyone was brothers and sisters, as well as how evil sects were, harassing and abusing our brothers and sisters. As such, everyone needed to band together.

The shifty-looking old man seemed to become surrounded by a halo as he spoke, filled with absolute charm. As he spoke, he seemed to incite everyone on. The independent cultivators all raised their heads and were moved by his speech.

Li Qingshan had a heart of steel, so he could not be moved so easily. However, he found this to be somewhat familiar.