Chapter 759 - 229: Guest or Prisoner?
Chapter 229: [A Guest? Imprisonment?] (7000)
Senior Brother Jiang meticulously investigated the scene for almost an hour. Chen Yan stood obediently under a tree in the forest, not daring to make any rash movements.
The junior disciple accompanying Senior Brother Jiang wasn’t too anxious about watching over Chen Yan, simply allowing him to wander in the forest—perhaps, in his view, a lowly loose cultivator like Chen Yan should naturally be trembling and obedient when facing a sect with a lineage of Saints like theirs.
Later on, several figures flew into the forest one after another, all wearing long robes of apricot yellow, similar to those worn by Jiang Mo and his companions, clearly indicating they were from the same sect.
Seeing his fellow sect members arrive, Jiang Mo ended his inspection of the scene and jumped down from the damaged flying boat.
It was evident that among everyone present, Jiang Mo held the highest status. The other disciples greeted him with cupped hands, and Jiang Mo merely waved his hand, saying lightly, "Anything uncovered during the nearby patrol?"
"... Reporting to Senior Brother, no, we patrolled several hundred miles around the area and found no suspicious persons."
Receiving this response, Jiang Mo did not show any sign of disappointment, just nodded, "The person possesses extraordinary divine techniques, likely beyond what you can find — well, I had you patrol the area just as a measure better than nothing. Since nothing was found, let us return and report to the sect for a decision."
With that, Jiang Mo turned to look at the damaged flying boat in the forest. With a flick of his sleeve, a small bronze cauldron flew out, emitting a precious light and floating in mid-air. As a blue mist spread from the cauldron, the broken flying boat turned into a stream of light and was absorbed into the cauldron.
Even the scattered damaged boxes and herbs on the ground turned into streams of light and quickly entered the cauldron.
Jiang Mo then put away the bronze cauldron, turned to look at the numerous junior disciples, and finally focused his gaze on Chen Yan standing under a distant tree.
"He is the survivor from the boat; taking him back can provide us with a witness. Some matters still need to be clarified."
Jiang Mo pointed his hand towards Chen Yan.
The junior disciple summoned Chen Yan, "Hey! Come over; Senior Brother asks you to return with us."
Chen Yan, knowing this might happen, nodded calmly.
Jiang Mo casually retrieved an object from his sleeve and tossed it to the ground. With a flicker of silver light, it quickly soared into the sky, transforming into a massive paper crane!
The large paper crane unfolded its wings like a small boat, reaching nearly ten meters wide.
Jiang Mo and the disciples hopped onto the immortal crane, and naturally, Chen Yan was brought along.
As the crane raised its head, it let out a resonant cry and flapped its wings, taking flight.
Standing on the crane’s back, Chen Yan felt astonishing stability beneath his feet, without the slightest shake or wobble. The array inscriptions within this paper crane were likely even more advanced than those on the Gu Family’s flying boat.
Watching the wind sweep clouds to both sides, the people on the crane were unaffected by the wind’s power.
On the paper crane, there was a discussion about their findings with Jiang Mo, during which he spoke of Chen Yan as the sole survivor from the boat, mentioning he had seen the attacker, and by recognizing the danger promptly, was the quickest to escape the ship, thus surviving by luck.
When he explained this, the sect disciples were indifferent, with two or three casting curious glances at Chen Yan before withdrawing their attention.
Instead, Jiang Mo remained the focal point — these sect disciples were not too concerned about the incident of a hijacked ship but since it happened at their doorstep, as a sect with a Saint lineage, they had to conduct a cursory inspection.
After discussing the case, they earnestly flattered Jiang Mo.
"Senior Brother Jiang, after this duty at Jing’an Hall, you will return to the inner sect to prepare for the celestial tribulation and the breakthrough to the Celestial Human Realm!"
"With Senior Brother Jiang presiding over Jing’an Hall for three years, the brothers and sisters have greatly benefited! The Hall Master rarely manages affairs, and Senior Brother Jiang seems like our actual head."
"Indeed, after Senior Brother returns, we must give him a proper farewell."
"Senior Brother is a prodigy of our sect. This return to the inner sect to strive for the Celestial Human Realm is sure to be a great success and smooth as ever! We’ll preemptively celebrate Senior Brother’s breakthrough to the Celestial Realm, achieving the grand path!"
Faced with such flattery, Jiang Mo did not act indifferently and thanked each with a joyful smile.
While this atmosphere of earnestness warmed the scene, Chen Yan sat quietly on the edge, maintaining his silence.
However, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of emotion within.
It seems, whether in the real world or the Domain Realm, navigating human relationships is an unavoidable reality.
·
The paper crane’s flight lasted only about an hour before it began to descend.
Sitting atop the crane, Chen Yan saw in the distance a floating Immortal Mountain still suspended high above, but on the ground, there rose a mountainous base.
It seemed some magnificent power had sliced through this peak horizontally, with its top half severed and sent floating into the sky, becoming the airborne Immortal Mountain.
The mountain base on the ground extended for scores of miles.
The horizontal cut atop the mountain created a flat zone, surrounded by woods, with a cluster of imposing, grandiose buildings constructed amid it.