Chapter 56: Major Exam, Better Dead Than Alive

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Major Exam, Better Dead Than Alive

"What?"

Hearing this, the three of them turned their gazes toward Liu Yong.

Liu Yong said excitedly, "I have a neighbor on duty at the Miscellaneous Hall. While chatting a couple of days ago, he complained to me that the Miscellaneous Hall has been extremely busy lately, leaving him no time to cultivate.

"According to him, it’s because the Stewards’ triennial major assessment is in three days.

"The main criteria of the assessment evaluate whether the areas under their jurisdiction are operating smoothly, as well as the progress of the disciples, the harvest of Spiritual Objects, and so on...

"When the time comes, an Elder will personally supervise the event, while the specific details will be cross-inspected by each Steward."

Liu Yong swallowed hard and said hesitantly, "Could Steward Ma’s three-day deadline for us to find the Insect Mother be because of this major assessment?

"If... I mean, if he fails to stop the insect plague in the Spirit Fields during his tenure, his assessment evaluation will definitely be dragged down.

"He might even lose his position as a Steward over this!"

Upon hearing this, Li Changsheng didn’t feel much of a reaction, but Elder Wang and Wu Yong’s expressions changed drastically, faintly revealing their anxiety.

The position of Steward was only one rank higher than a disciple in the hierarchy of the miscellaneous peaks. It seemed insignificant, but it held considerable power. Taking the Spirit Field Zone of the miscellaneous peaks as an example, there was only one Steward overseeing things, while four other Stewards were specifically in charge of the Spirit Fields in the four major areas: A, B, C, and D Zones. The D Zone alone had over a hundred disciples and hundreds of acres of Spirit Fields, yielding a combined annual revenue of tens of thousands of Spirit Stones. The Spirit Fields in Zones A, B, and C were of higher quality. Although the total number of fields there was lower, their annual revenue would only be higher.

With such massive profits, a Steward only needed to tweak the records slightly to embezzle an amount equal to what a Cultivator would earn from years of risking their life in Demon Hunting. Not to mention, as stationed Cultivators, the Cyan Yang Sect would also issue them a substantial reward. This was a lucrative job that countless Cultivators were eyeing. Where there were benefits, disputes were inevitable. With just a little thought, the three could sense that this triennial assessment would definitely be a bloodless battle.

However, these matters were not important to nobodies like them. What truly mattered was that this sudden insect plague was definitely not so simple, and they needed to figure out what to do! The atmosphere instantly froze.

Looking at the three silent men, Liu Yong grew a bit agitated and asked urgently, "Say something, guys! What should we do? Do we look for the Insect Mother? How do we find it?"

Li Changsheng raised his head, glanced at the three of them, and said in a deep voice, "We look. We absolutely have to find it!"

Elder Wang hesitated. "But the Cultivator targeting Steward Ma..."

Wu Yong cast a sideways glance at him and let out an eerie chuckle. "Hehe, if we don’t look, we’ll be kicked straight out of the miscellaneous peaks. There are plenty of demons in the Wanzhong Mountains Range..."

Elder Wang’s cheek twitched. He opened his mouth to say something, but ultimately held his tongue and let out a soft sigh.

How were they going to find it? The problem currently placed before them was how to locate that Insect Mother!

Li Changsheng looked at the beautiful scenery and cursed inwardly, "Shouldn’t cultivating immortality be about ignoring worldly affairs and focusing solely on cultivation? Where did all these convoluted schemes come from? Plotting against this person and that person—aren’t they afraid of breeding inner demons?!"

Just then, he suddenly spotted a person standing in the corner of a courtyard, stealthily watching them.

Li Changsheng froze for a moment as a flash of inspiration struck his mind. The Black Blood Moths definitely didn’t appear in the Spirit Fields for no reason, and the Insect Mother wouldn’t be too far from the swarm. If it couldn’t be found in the Spirit Fields, could it be in the vegetable patches of the courtyards where the Cultivators lived? Or perhaps it was being hidden by a certain Cultivator?

It was highly possible! After all, the person targeting Steward Ma was definitely a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator like him. They wouldn’t be so shameless as to act overtly, and doing so would also carry the risk of exposure.

Snapping back to reality, Li Changsheng immediately shared his speculations with the other three.

Liu Yong pondered for a moment before suddenly clapping his hands. "That’s right! That must be it!" he said excitedly.

Elder Wang’s eyes brightened slightly as he said, "According to what Wu Sheng said, the Insect Mother seems to be on the verge of advancing, and advancing requires a massive amount of Spiritual Qi.

"A single Low-grade Spirit Field wouldn’t be enough to sustain it!"

The madness in Wu Yong’s eyes intensified. He swept a murderous gaze across the courtyards one by one and said softly, "In other words, it’s hiding in someone’s home!"

The four exchanged glances. Li Changsheng thought for a moment before speaking. "I have quite a lot of spiritual insects. Let them scout around to see if they can detect the aura of the Insect Mother." He paused and added grimly, "Once it is found, I’ll have to ask you three senior brothers to take action."

"Make sure to deal a lethal blow," he added in a low voice after a moment of hesitation. "It’s better if they end up dead rather than alive."

Liu Yong looked confused, but didn’t ask why. Elder Wang and Wu Yong’s expressions shifted slightly before they nodded with heavy expressions.

"Let’s not delay. We should start now, lest the Insect Mother finishes advancing."

Li Changsheng vaulted onto Xiaohua. With a mere thought, he released all the other Red-winged Blood Bamboos, leaving only Big Bro and Little Bro by his side.

Because his mental connection with the spiritual insects had a range limit, he could only inspect two courtyards at a time. The swarm of Red-winged Blood Bamboos flew into the courtyards without any concealment, thoroughly searching everywhere—from the vegetable gardens to the side rooms, and finally to the main houses.

Even though the owner of one of the wooden cabins had a very ugly expression, he instantly lost his nerve the moment he saw the four-man group outside. They were four Insect-controlling Cultivators; he simply could not afford to provoke them. Swallowing his grievances, he stepped out of his room and allowed the spiritual insects to dart back and forth through his home.

Time slowly trickled by. As the courtyards were inspected one after another, Elder Wang and Wu Yong looked at Li Changsheng as if they were staring at a monster. Did he not feel mentally exhausted dividing his focus to control so many spiritual insects? The two exchanged a glance, both catching a glimmer of fervent greed as well as a trace of apprehension in each other’s eyes.

By this point, Li Changsheng’s face had grown a bit pale, and a hint of fatigue swelled in his eyes. In the past, he only needed to issue general commands to the swarm, which barely consumed any mental energy. Now that he had to divide his focus into so many different threads, he not only felt exhausted, but a faint, stabbing pain also throbbed in his head.

"Phew..."

After finishing the inspection of another two courtyards, Li Changsheng gasped for breath. He cupped his fists apologetically toward the two aggrieved Cultivators standing in their yards. With a thought, the swarm gathered above his head.

"Let’s go, Xiaohua."

GRUNT GRUNT...

Xiaohua grunted twice and ambled toward the next two courtyards.

Soon, a somewhat familiar courtyard came into view. It was the very same home where he had purchased the Jade Grass. Li Changsheng looked at the tightly shut wooden door. With a thought, half of the swarm broke off and flew toward the courtyard. Since he had already been inside the vegetable garden previously, there was no need to check it again. The swarm flew straight to the wooden door and slammed against it a few times.

THUMP THUMP...

A short while later, a middle-aged Cultivator with a somewhat pale face, who looked to be in his thirties, walked out from inside the house. His expression shifted slightly the moment he saw the swarm of Red-winged Blood Bamboos and Li Changsheng’s group of four outside. He immediately reached out to shut the wooden door. However, he was a step too slow. Several insects had already flown inside.

He Qing’s abnormal reaction raised Li Changsheng’s guard. He shot a meaningful look at Elder Wang and the other two as he steered Xiaohua toward the courtyard. While using his mental connection to sense the reactions of the Blood-winged Red Bamboos, Li Changsheng closely observed the man’s facial expressions.

"Did he do it?" he wondered.