As the saying goes, good news stays behind closed doors, while bad news travels a thousand miles.
Nearly ten Qi Refining disciples from the sect had been killed or injured and the incident even involved demonic cultivators.
The moment this explosive news broke, it sent shockwaves through the entire Purple Profound Sect.
In no time, communication talismans were flying through the sky. Within a day or two, more than half the sect's disciples had heard about it.
At the center of this storm was none other than Cai Shiwei, who had fought his way out of the ambush and returned seriously wounded.
Even though he was the one who had taken the initiative to report the entire incident, the same day, he was immediately "invited" by several Foundation Establishment elders and the Sect Master himself to recount every detail of the encounter with the demonic cultivators over and over again.
Even Tang Xiaohan, who had been unconscious, was revived using a rare and precious pill from the sect, just so they could question her separately.
The sect then compared their accounts, cross-checking everything thoroughly for quite some time.
Later on, a group of elders even personally accompanied Cai Shiwei to investigate the ancient cultivator's cave.
They confirmed it was indeed an old cultivator's inheritance site, though it had already been looted. Inside, they found remnants of both the sect's disciples' remains and traces of demonic cultivation techniques.
Only then did the sect finally believe Cai Shiwei's story and confirm that a mysterious force of demonic cultivators had indeed invaded.
In the end
Cai Shiwei, who had awakened the rare Blood Soul Physique amid battle, was personally accepted as a disciple by a late-stage Foundation Establishment elder with the potential to reach Core Formation.
There were even rumors that, had the sect's Core Formation ancestor the revered Purple Profound Sect Elder not been in closed-door cultivation, the Sect Master would've recommended Cai Shiwei to become his disciple.
This meant, having the Foundation Establishment elder take him in… was the backup plan!
With that, Cai Shiwei instantly became the most talked-about figure in the entire Purple Profound Sect.
And in his spotlight, Li Ye was once again dragged into the public eye.
Back then, he had decisively refused the invitation from Cai Shiwei's group and was mocked for being a coward, spineless, a turtle hiding in its shell.
But now?
Those who mocked him for turning down the invitation were all dead every single one of them.
Meanwhile, though Li Ye's reputation hadn't exactly improved, he was still alive and well, quietly tending to the spiritual fields in the sect.
In contrast…
Even the low-level disciples who used to mock him now couldn't help but reflect a little.
"Damn it, I told you guys what's so wrong about being cautious?!"
"Those guys acted all high and mighty, and now look! They didn't even leave a full corpse behind!"
Zhang Liangfu was cursing out loud, but a wide grin never left his face.
He remembered the sharp-tongued cultivator's smug expression like it was yesterday.
That guy and his chubby partner had bullied him just because their cultivation was a stage higher. They hadn't even let him finish speaking before using their aura to suppress him into silence.
The audacity!
Now they were dead and gone, not even a body left behind. It was incredibly satisfying!
"Senior Brother Zhang!"
"Hey, hey! You better shut your damn mouth!"
Li Ye and Hu Zhiquan both interrupted Zhang Liangfu at the same time.
The latter even gave a few glances around to signal him to be more careful.
Sure, those two were dead but Cai Shiwei was still very much alive!
Annoying as those two might have been, they had been fiercely loyal to Cai Shiwei.
Even without considering the newfound influence of his new mentor...
With his already decent spiritual roots and now the awakened Blood Soul Physique, Cai Shiwei's path to Foundation Establishment was practically guaranteed.
Even reaching the Foundation Establishment might not be out of the question!
Within the Purple Profound Sect, this man was now truly a heaven-blessed genius!
But for the group of spiritual farmers who had come together merely by coincidence, they were far from being a united front.
If someone tried to curry favor with Cai Shiwei by reporting what Zhang Liangfu had just said…
Given Cai Shiwei's current influence, he wouldn't even need to lift a finger others would gladly take it upon themselves to teach Zhang Liangfu the price of reckless speech.
Realizing this all of a sudden, Zhang Liangfu swept his eyes over to the nearby spirit fields, catching sight of a few disciples subtly glancing in his direction. He immediately clamped his mouth shut.
The burly, dark-skinned man instinctively shrank his neck, an ugly expression on his face.
His cautious demeanor now was a far cry from his usual carefree self!
Letting out a breath, Zhang Liangfu cupped his hands toward Li Ye and Hu Zhiquan and said,
"I was out of line just now thank you both for the reminder. If not for that, I might've landed myself in serious trouble!"
"I'm still hoping you'll help look after my spirit field when I go home to visit my wife and kids. You'd better not go and get yourself killed doing something stupid!" Hu Zhiquan chuckled, slapping Zhang on the shoulder in a carefree manner.
Li Ye, however, wore a more serious expression.
"I'm counting on you to pick up a few things for me when you travel outside, Senior Brother. Of course, I'd look out for you."
"Haha, alright, alright!" Zhang Liangfu couldn't help but laugh, patting his chest as he said, "If you two ever need anything, just say the word Old Zhang's got you covered!"
The moment he said that Li Ye and Hu Zhiquan's eyes lit up.
"Then, Senior Brother/Senior Brother, could you lend me some spirit stones to tide me over…"
"Not!"
The instant spirit stones were mentioned, Zhang Liangfu clutched his storage pouch and instinctively backed away like someone guarding against thieves.
Li Ye and Hu Zhiquan sighed in disappointment.
But after that bit of banter, the atmosphere among the three finally lightened up.
Still, perhaps due to the earlier scare, Zhang Liangfu's face suddenly turned worried again.
"But, Junior Brother… you've refused invitations in the past more than once. Isn't that also a slap in the face to him?"
"If he decides to pursue the matter, with our cultivation and status, how could you possibly withstand it?"
He had high hopes for Li Ye he was even counting on him to give him a hand in the future!
If Li Ye were crushed by someone like Cai Shiwei, then a guy like him who didn't even have much talent for farming might never get another such chance…
Of course, if even Zhang Liangfu could see the issue, Li Ye and Hu Zhiquan naturally had already thought of it too.
But as Zhang brought it up, Hu Zhiquan suddenly said nothing at all. His expression grew distant as if his mind were elsewhere.
Then, without a sound, the middle-aged man subtly stepped back a few paces before apologizing,
"Sorry, you two. I think something's going on in the spirit field I need to check it out."
With that, he turned and walked away without the slightest hesitation.
Unlike Old Zhang, Hu Zhiquan wasn't alone in the world. He had a wife, children, and a family that depended on him.
He could give a warning before someone said the wrong thing but get involved in a potential conflict between Li Ye and Cai Shiwei. Sorry… we're not that close.
"Senior Brother Hu, you…"
Zhang Liangfu stared after him, momentarily speechless.
"No need to worry, Senior Brother," Li Ye said with a calm smile. "I don't believe someone like Senior Brother Cai would stoop to targeting a nobody like me."
"As far as I'm concerned, being able to maintain and improve my cultivation with a small spirit field is already more than enough."
"But if someone does try to step on me to rise… then all the battles I've fought in the past won't have been for nothing."
As he spoke, his eyes swept across the other spirit-farming disciples.
Watching them hastily avert their gazes under his glance, he let out a cold chuckle.
"Let them all know this if anyone truly tries to push me into a corner, then even if blood must spill and we perish together, I won't back down!"
As his words fell, Li Ye suddenly raised his hand and slashed through the air.
Whoosh
Without even forming a hand seal, a sharp, refined streak of pale blue sword qi sliced outward.
In the blink of an eye, it cleaved a Stone Dragon Lizard sneaking into the field clean in half!
To think he could wield the Metalbane Grass Sword with such power…
Zhang Liangfu stared at the two writhing halves of the lizard at the edge of the field, eyes wide in shock.
"Junior Brother Li… you've recovered your cultivation to Qi Refining Fourth Stage?!"