Chapter 244: Chapter 158: What? The Demon Cultivator Has Already Been Dealt With?

He spoke with genuine sincerity, without a hint of falsehood.

Yang Huai’an asked himself: if he had been the one to face a White Bone Giant alone, he surely would have been no match for it.

He would have been incredibly lucky just to survive, dragging out the fight until the drug wore off at the cost of grievous injuries.

But then he looked at Xiao Chen. His breathing was steady and his complexion rosy; it was obvious he hadn’t been injured at all.

Even his Magic Robe was completely unscathed; there was no sign he had just been through a massive battle.

The thought made Yang Huai’an feel all the more inadequate, and a desire to befriend Xiao Chen took root in his heart.

He therefore took the initiative to stay behind and help fill in the craters left by the battle.

He then acted as a messenger, returning to the Lingyuan Sect to contact a Verification Envoy to come tally the Merit.

After seeing off Yang Huai’an and Chang Shunping, Xiao Chen returned to the Spirit Ore mine and refined Cao Wunian’s Storage Bag to claim it as his own.

Sure enough, it was stuffed to the brim with Flame Crystal Stones.

But other than that, there wasn’t a single Spirit Stone or any other miscellaneous item, only half a bottle of leftover Fasting Pills and twenty-four full vials of poison smoke.

He had clearly cleaned everything else out before he came, having already prepared to leave no resources behind in case he died in battle.

’So that’s how he played it...’

Xiao Chen frowned slightly, having found nothing else after rummaging through the Storage Bag.

Fortunately, he had also acquired a Top-Grade Magical Artifact: the very White Bone Staff Cao Wunian had used.

This Top-Grade Magical Artifact alone was worth ten thousand Spirit Stones.

Moreover, with the double Merit and points he had earned this time, he now met the conditions for promotion to a Demon-slaying Guard.

’With this, the first part of the plan I devised on the Flying Boat is complete, and ahead of schedule at that.’

’Next, I can begin the second phase: avoid the front lines, stay in the rear of the Lingyuan Sect, and hunt down any Demon Cultivators who sneak in to cause trouble.’

’I originally thought being assigned to the Qingyang Spirit Ore mine would cause a delay.’

’But now it seems I won’t need to take part in a second rotational mission.’

’Still, I owe this smooth success to the Vertical Earth Golden Light.’

After a short rest, Xiao Chen took the Purple Gold Spirit Sand out of his Storage Bag.

He had once again tasted the sweet advantage of superior Escape Techniques, and he decided to focus his cultivation entirely on them during the period before he became a Demon-slaying Guard.

Of the one catty and six taels of Purple Gold Spirit Sand he had acquired, a full catty and four taels remained.

If he spared no expense and doubled the amount he used, he stood a good chance of pushing his Vertical Earth Golden Light technique directly to the Great Success Realm.

Since he hadn’t spent any money on this Spiritual Sand in the first place, Xiao Chen felt no compunction about using it.

.

"What? That Demon Cultivator has already been dealt with?"

Inside the Lingyuan Sect, Sect Leader Gong Lingfeng cried out in shock.

He stared intently at Yang Huai’an, his strange reaction so pronounced that it even bewildered the surrounding Elders. ’What’s gotten into him?’

The other Elders, while also somewhat shocked, were mainly surprised by how incredibly fast Xiao Chen had been.

The Bounty Order had only been issued a day ago, yet the Demon Cultivator who had stolen the Flame Crystal Stones had already been found and stopped.

’But was that really so surprising?’

’Why did the Sect Leader seem to have lost his composure?’

Yang Huai’an was also stunned. He didn’t understand why the Sect Leader was having such a strong reaction when he had only just begun his report and hadn’t even reached the most critical details.

None of them knew that for the past two days, Gong Lingfeng had been in agony.

He had known full well that disaster was about to strike Qingyang County, but he could neither speak of it nor send anyone to prevent it in advance.

Although he betrayed no sign of this outwardly, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of grief and fury.

Unlike other Cultivators of his generation, Gong Lingfeng had not been the one with the most outstanding cultivation.

On the contrary, due to a severe injury sustained while fighting a Demon Cultivator in his youth, he had been the first among his peers to lose any hope of reaching the Core Formation realm.

After a period of despair, he had poured all his energy into the development of the sect.

He remembered every single place under the Lingyuan Sect’s governance with perfect clarity, and he had personally visited every city more than once.

This was why Gong Lingfeng had been in such exceptional torment these past two days.

Now, suddenly hearing the good news from Yang Huai’an, he felt an instant surge of joy well up in his heart.

He couldn’t help but let out a huge sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

’Thank goodness, Qingyang County is safe!’

But then, as the initial joy subsided, Gong Lingfeng finally processed what had been said. "Wait a minute," he said, "you’re telling me the Demon Cultivator has already been dealt with?"

He quickly pressed, "What exactly happened? Who was it that dealt with the Demon Cultivator?"

Yang Huai’an immediately recounted everything he had seen and heard, making sure to emphasize that the enemy had consumed the White Bone Sect’s Holy Medicine.

When he finished speaking, the several Lingyuan Sect Elders present looked at one another in stunned silence.

They exchanged glances, their eyes revealing expressions of utter disbelief.

’Is this some kind of joke?’

They had all participated in the suppression of the White Bone Sect’s Demon Cultivators, and many had even personally fought against White Bone Giants who had consumed the Holy Medicine.

It was for this very reason they knew all too well just how unreasonably powerful the White Bone Sect’s Holy Medicine was.

In the span of a short quarter hour, it burned away a Cultivator’s Essence Blood, lifespan, cultivation—every price that could be paid—in exchange for absolute power.

The Lingyuan Sect’s countless painful lessons from the past had proven that absolutely no Foundation Establishment Cultivator could stand against a White Bone Giant alone.