CHAPTER 142: MEETING OLD FRIENDS AGAIN

Li Ling appeared in a forest near the edge of the region belonging to the Qing Shan Sect, precisely the same place he once released Cai Dong and slaughtered his level 9 first-realm Steel Feathered Raptor.

Coming back to the Thousand Mile Valley, Li Ling couldn’t help but feel deeply emotional.

The last time he was here, he was fleeing the retribution of the Qing Shan Sect lower echelon because he had caused havoc in the former Number 9 marketplace, forced to run at his fastest speed, and was even monitored while away by Luo Roumei’s bunch.

Yet he had just committed what was pretty much 300 times worse of a crime, and his escape was so leisurely, his options plentiful.

Now, even Nascent Soul elders of the middle-rank sect were on his tail, yet he was so leisurely, despite the continuous pinging of his danger sense.

Almost whistling, Li Ling trotted along, walking the border between the two regions—one for the Qing Shan Sect and one for the Boundless Joy Sect—angling toward a specific destination.

It was only around 40 minutes of casual walking, yet Li Ling came upon a large wall that rose 15 meters high, carved across its entire length with powerful and complex runes that were all minutiae of a mighty Grade Six Formation.

The moment he got within range of the barrier, Li Ling felt his body being scanned deeply, and his Asura Blood Token was pinged by the formation, authenticating his identity and qualifications.

The moment the authentication was completed, Li Ling felt the focus of the formation leave off him, but he wasn’t free just yet.

He saw a group of cultivators in the familiar white and gold coming over rapidly on their flying methods, also accompanied by a larger group of female disciples in scant attire, their makeup quite heavy and their figures quite voluminous.

The group numbered seven in total, two from the Six Paths Demon Sect and five from the Boundless Joy Sect.

They came to land before Li Ling, the two Six Paths Demon Sect disciples revealing themselves to be at the third realm, while those from the Boundless Joy Sect were at the second realm.

Cupping their fists, the two from the Six Paths Demon Sect visibly scanned Li Ling and smiled, the one in the lead, with a cultivation base at the peak of the third realm, spoke first.

"Greetings, Junior Apprentice Brother. I was notified by the overseer that you are not registered to be here, so I have to take you into temporary custody to ensure you don’t disrupt normal procedures."

Hearing this, the faces of the ladies from the Boundless Joy Sect showed surprise and confusion.

Meanwhile, Li Ling had already expected this, cupping his fists in response with a smile. "No worries, Senior Apprentice Brother. I will abide by the sects’ rules, but you will soon find out why I appeared here all of a sudden for sure."

"Oh?" Both Six Paths Demon Sect fellows raised their eyebrows with interest, wondering who Li Ling was.

It should be obvious enough that his deeds in the previous war had not yet spread within the entire sect, especially not at an outpost like this which was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from where he had previously been.

To speak like this, either this fellow had done something shocking or he had some powerful backing, so the two Six Paths Demon Sect disciples didn’t dawdle, nor did they accost Li Ling.

However, they were a bit awed and intimidated when Li Ling mounted the Asura Reaper and flew alongside them. After all, anyone could tell that this artifact was not simple, and even though its power fluctuations indicated that it was at the same second realm as Li Ling, it gave them palpitations of extreme danger.

This was a weapon that could take their lives with ease on its own!

Realizing this, the two fellow disciples became marginally more respectful than they already were, convinced that Li Ling was someone with a big backing, while the ladies of the Boundless Joy Sect became flushed, their interest rising.

After all, they didn’t come to this outpost to fight. They had scores of enslaved male lovers and puppets to do that.

They came here to network—to find powerful male Six Paths Demon Sect disciples to latch onto as either wives or concubines in order to secure better standing, resources, and power!

And seeing this young man who seemed calm even when being arrested, who also had an artifact of such power, it was clear that he was a potent young master and rising sky pride!

The outpost here was far larger than the one at the Five Elements Sect hinterland, at the edge of the pseudo-region formerly belonging to the now-destroyed Black Heaven Sect.

After all, that outpost concerned a War of Annihilation for the Six Paths Halls’ lower sect, while this one concerned something bigger.

In fact, Li Ling was amused by the existence of this outpost, because he had thought of it twice in the past.

The first time was during his first escape from the Qing Shan Sect, when he reached this place and saw increased patrols from the Boundless Joy Sect and was forced to use the then Earth Escape Technique to move.

The second time was when he was in the Asura Blood Hall and was selecting possible war fronts; he had come across this very outpost in the list and chuckled about it then, but also committed it to memory.

Indeed, this outpost was the main one established to handle the War of Contest between the Boundless Joy Sect and the Qing Shan Sect!

He had run right past it during his first escape, though it was not like he could have easily entered without a Six Paths Sect token.

Even now, his entry was still improper because, as Li Ling himself found out the hard way during his previous war, once you sign up for any type of war, you were not easily allowed to leave, nor were you allowed to enter without registering ahead of time.

Li Ling did not register because he did not intend to participate in any war for a while and was fully focused now on his grind to the middle layer of the sect.

So his entry here, while accepted, was subject to investigation and possibly some form of sanction, especially since he was primarily transitioning from this place back to the main sect.

Soon, their group reached their destination, which was the administration center of this outpost. Before they could enter, though, there was a slight commotion ahead as a group of people approached this area rapidly.

"Li Ling! How dare you come back here!"

A loud roar reverberated across the area, causing everyone within the nearest three blocks to flinch in fear and horror, because the person who made the bellow did not hide their aura at all.

Looking over, one saw a group of three mature women with auras towering to the sky, rushing over like lionesses about to accost a poor deer that was trying to exist in peace.

Of them, two faces were actually familiar to Li Ling. One was naturally the good old Wen Caiyi, the former protector of Bai Ruyi and one of his former captors before entering the Six Paths Demon Sect, and the other was Yan Bing, the former protector of the now-deceased Lin Yue, who had been trying to accost Bai Ruyi back then.

The last one was another Nascent Soul power, dressed similarly elegantly and matronly like Elder Wen and Elder Yan, her features slightly colder and more combative.

They all approached Li Ling’s group in a rush and surrounded them, making the previously excited and flirty young ladies cower in fear of their notorious and powerful elders.

Meanwhile, the two Six Paths Demon Sect disciples who were leading Li Ling became confused, wondering what was going on and whether this was sanctioned by the right authorities.

As for Li Ling, he folded his arms with a smile, looking as if he were the third-party bystander in this whole affair and not the one these powerhouses seemed to want to skin alive.

"Oh, isn’t this Elder Wen? And the dog bitch Yan Bing? Instead of waiting for me to come and make you the sex toy of my future mount, you actually rushed over to me first?" Li Ling greeted with a pleasant laugh, for all the world seeming like he was greeting old friends.

However, his caustic words caused the five second-realm Boundless Joy Sect disciples with him to scatter from his presence and rush to stand behind their elders, clearly drawing a line with him.

Meanwhile, the two fellows with Li Ling immediately knew that this was not a sanctioned affair but a personal vendetta, given the way both parties acted toward each other.

As such, before the Boundless Joy Sect group could even speak, the two of them stepped forth and also unleashed their auras, though they were one realm lower.

"How dare you pieces of trash block the way of our sect when we are carrying out official duties!"