Chapter 182 : The Altar

Chapter 182: The Altar

In the forest, Liu Tianfeng dismounted and spoke to the Sword Sect disciple. “I am Liu Tianfeng, a steward of the Dao Gate.”

“This is Steward Mo Qingmei of the Dao Gate.”

Zhao Qianfeng immediately saluted. “Outer disciple Zhao Qianfeng of the Sword Sect greets the two seniors.”

Then, he politely cupped his hands toward the Dao Gate disciples behind them. “Greetings, everyone.”

His gaze swept over the group of outer disciples, and he clearly paused when he saw Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang.

“Is this the Xuanhuang Champion, Chu Huaixu?”

Chu Huaixu looked at him and nodded slightly. “Senior Brother, do you recognize me?”

“Of course. Though I have never met Junior Brother Chu in person, your portrait has already spread widely throughout the Xuanhuang Realm these days.” His tone made it sound entirely natural.

Chu Huaixu: “……”

‘Damn, did my portrait really go viral?’

As he observed Zhao Qianfeng, he noticed a hint of surprise in the man’s eyes.

But alongside the surprise, there seemed to be a trace of hesitation and conflict.

When he sensed Chu Huaixu looking at him, Zhao Qianfeng didn’t meet his gaze, instead turning his head away.

Soon after, he immediately turned to speak with Liu Tianfeng again.

As a seasoned play companion, he was extremely skilled at reading people—and Chu Huaixu had taken note of everything.

“Weird guy,” Chu Huaixu thought.

He quietly decided to stay cautious.

Chu Huaixu turned his head toward Han Shuangjiang and softly said, “Don’t get separated from me later.”

“Alright.” The girl didn’t ask further and nodded in agreement.

After Liu Tianfeng and Zhao Qianfeng exchanged a few more words, Liu Tianfeng told him, “Explain the situation to everyone.”

“Yes, Senior.”

Zhao Qianfeng immediately faced the crowd and recounted the events.

He spoke of how he came across this place during his travels, then discovered traces of Evil Cultivators. With his intelligence, courage, and keen senses, he managed to capture one of them and used some special means to extract detailed information about Chixi Ravine.

He spoke fluently, endlessly, not missing a single chance to praise himself at every step. His storytelling was interspersed with embellishments, perfectly matching everyone’s stereotypical impression of Sword Sect sword cultivators—

—Pretentious.

Of course, from the perspective of Sword Sect folks, the disciples of the other three major sects were no different—just equally pretentious, only clumsier about it.

Once Zhao Qianfeng finished his entire explanation, Chu Huaixu heard the System notification chime in his ear.

“Ding! You have triggered the mission—Demon Elimination at Chixi Ravine.”

He secretly opened the mission interface to check.

“The Experience Points reward is only sixteen thousand?”

“Looks like the difficulty is indeed low.”

But soon, his gaze landed on a specific line.

“High probability of triggering hidden plotline.”

This surprised Chu Huaixu.

“Normally it’s just a chance of triggering a hidden plot, but here it clearly says a high probability?” he thought.

With a side glance at the beautiful figure beside him, he could only think—

“With Han Shuangjiang around, isn’t that practically a guaranteed trigger?”

It seemed his coming here hadn’t been in vain.

Still, Chu Huaixu found an opportunity to pull Liu Tianfeng and Mo Qingmei aside to give them a quiet reminder.

Now that he was the Xuanhuang Champion and held in high regard by the upper echelons of the Dao Gate, he was no longer someone whose words held little weight.

He said bluntly, “Stewards, for some reason, I find this Zhao Qianfeng a bit odd.”

“Perhaps it’s just my intuition.”

“But I believe we should proceed with caution when entering Chixi Ravine.”

As usual, Liu Tianfeng adopted his fawning attitude toward Chu Huaixu and immediately said, “Very well, we’ll follow your lead, Nephew Chu.”

Mo Qingmei, due to Niu Yuanshan’s influence, even carried a touch of doting fondness toward Chu Huaixu. She smiled and replied, “Alright, I’ll keep an eye on Zhao Qianfeng too, and we’ll see if your instincts are right.”

Afraid they were only paying lip service, Chu Huaixu quickly added, “This disciple thanks the two stewards for your trust.”

After he left, the white-haired Steward Liu looked at the young man’s departing figure, feeling no worry at all about the Chixi Ravine mission.

Because before he had come down the mountain, the Sixth Elder had personally visited and given him a Domain Talisman.

This talisman contained a trace of Li Chunsong’s Domain power.

Even against Evil Cultivators of the Fifth Realm, it granted combat capability, and it could suppress ordinary Fifth Realm cultivators with ease.

Anything below the Fifth Realm would be eliminated instantly.

He understood clearly that the main purpose of giving such a talisman was to ensure Chu Huaixu’s safety.

He needed to gain experience, but he couldn’t be allowed to come to harm.

In the forest, just before entering Chixi Ravine, Liu Tianfeng gave a final round of instructions.

“The key to this mission is destroying the altar.”

“Without the altar, the Evil Cultivators are just a disorderly mob.”

With that, he began assigning roles.

“Lei Ming, Zhou Yuan… and Zhao Qianfeng.”

“You three will remain outside and act according to the situation.”

“If any Evil Cultivators flee, leave none alive.”

“Zhou Yuan, take this messaging talisman. If something happens inside, notify the Dao Gate immediately.”

Once one reached the Third Realm, they could use voice transmission.

He then secretly transmitted a message to Lei Ming and Zhou Yuan: “Keep some of your attention on Zhao Qianfeng as well.”

Among the nine Outer Sect Stewards, Liu Tianfeng was the oldest and most experienced in leading expeditions.

Chu Huaixu had already mentioned to Han Shuangjiang that Liu Tianfeng’s Dao Companion had died during a mission protecting Dao Gate disciples alongside him.

Now, under Steward Liu’s leadership, the group quickly reached the depths of Chixi Ravine through the forest.

Then, holding Water-Repelling Pearls, they all leapt down.

Chu Huaixu understood well—if there truly was an Evil Cultivator altar beneath Chixi Ravine, it had to be dealt with.

“Though Evil Cultivators, like me, can grow stronger by killing—I'm a righteous cheat. There’s a world of difference between us.” he thought.

He upgraded using Experience Points, which generally had no side effects.

But for Evil Cultivators, it was different.

Their so-called power gain through killing was essentially devouring others’ Spirit Embryos.

Yet Spirit Embryos came in many types—swallowing them led to a chaotic blend of power.

Without an altar’s assistance, such chaotic forces would inevitably cause backlash.

Which meant—if they found the altar, they’d found the Evil Cultivators’ base of operations.

According to Zhao Qianfeng, this was a lowest-tier altar, newly built.

Therefore, the Evil Cultivators gathered here couldn’t be very strong.

Liu Tianfeng’s judgment wasn’t based solely on trusting Zhao Qianfeng’s words.

Rather, it was simply because—

Chixi Ravine wasn’t far from the Dao Gate!

And the Dao Gate’s most senior demon-slaying killer had sworn to complete the Sixty-Year Demon Slayer feat.

This entire region had already been purged time and again.