Supreme Emperor of Mist

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"Well... Not too much. What's with the sect?" Qin Lan acted ignorantly while replying to the village chief. It is not like he can simply tell him that he was killed and kicked off down the cliff full of corpses.

"Hmm... Where should I start then..." the village chief seems to have a habit of telling a story. Hence, after considering a little, he decided to start with the Iron Flesh Sect opening their door to outsiders.

And that was actually about two years ago.

Many years before this, the Iron Flesh Sect was still a closed-door sect that randomly recruited disciples when their disciples or elders visited the nearby settlements. It was said that the Iron Flesh Sect was actually the strongest sect around this area.

It was unknown that how many people were trying to get recruited into the sect but failed. During that time, getting drafted into the sect itself was worth celebrating for the entire village or towns.

But it changed drastically when the two nearby sects were slowly rising in fame.

They're also known as Pill Refining Sect and Blood Bamboo Sect. The two sects existed about the same time as Iron Flesh Sect but only recently gained fame. Since the latter started to lose some influence over this place, they had no other choice but to lower the requirement, starting from their disciple intake.

The sect also started to do business with the surrounding villages and towns. It offered to purchase medicinal plants and ores at a considerable price to strengthen its own foundation. Of course, such a blatant approach would undoubtedly make the settlements around the sect worried. Still, nobody could actually say no to profit, especially when it involved a few hundred Flesh Tempering Pills.

Furthermore, they expected to consider trading with the Iron Flesh Sect since it was already around and more influential compared to the two other sects.

"But lately, the Iron Flesh Sect seems to be doing a little poorly in their competition against the two other sects. From what I heard through the messengers, the sect recently had a significant loss when exploring the Hundred Poison Swamp." said the village chief.

His expression seemed to be slightly troubled when mentioning the Hundred Poison Swamp. This made Qin Lan question the reason behind his worrying face today.

"It was usual for the village chief to be worried. From what the messenger said, the chief's only son went to the Hundred Poison Swamp as well. Since they had a significant loss while exploring the place previously, there's no doubt the chief's son might be injured or poisoned." said the farm manager. Like he's afraid the village chief would hear what he said, he ended up whispering gently beside Qin Lan's ear.

"Well, let us make sure that we'll get a reasonable price for the herbs here. I also have a few Detoxification Fruit here, so I'm sure it would have some use to the sect's disciples." the village chief added.

"Everything would be alright, chief. Don't worry." listening to what the village chief said about this Iron Flesh Sect made Qin Lan have a complex opinion towards the sect. Judging from his words, it seems that the Iron Flesh Sect wasn't as terrible as he can see from the three disciples back on the valley.

But it was still too early for him to make a judgment based on what he had seen and heard. Unless he personally experiences it, all the proof he has right now is just from word of mouth of some outsiders.

"We're getting closer to the sect. Let's pick up our speed, shall we?" the village chief said. A hint of impatience is clearly shown on his face.

"Alright! Let's do it! Boy, shift with me. I'll push the cart, so grab the reins for the donkey!" the farm manager said. It seems that he's very confident with his physical strength.

Qin Lan did not reply but quietly moved to the donkey and grabbed the leather strap attached to the harness. Secretly smiling while looking at the farm manager and village chief, Qin Lan injected a hint of his Pure Spiritual Energy through the strap until it went into the donkey.

The donkey got more energetic than its usual self and sped up while pulling the cart. But to make it less apparent,  Qin Lan put an act while pulling the donkey as they go.

The trio with a donkey and a cart full of medicinal herbs soon arrived at the sect entrance. It was quite a journey, but making it in less than three hours was considered quick enough.

Qin Lan and the others were allowed to step inside the sect after a quick check on their wares. There are a few other carts and villagers earlier than them.

But luckily, the process was a quick one. After inspecting what was brought to the sect, the transaction went on quickly without a hitch.

It seems that when it comes to their purchasing power, the Iron Flesh Sect was doing quite well, considering how shabby their establishment is.

If he was still the supreme emperor in this era, perhaps this sect would have been annexed by another power. But getting taken over would do more good than bad for them. At the very least, the establishment won't be in a terrible state as they are right now.

The village chief then excused himself for a while after the transaction to search for his beloved son.

As for Qin Lan and the farm manager, both of them took a quick walk around the area. Coincidently, they came to where the village chief was heading earlier. But what happened before them was something Qin Lan did not expect to see.

The elder was kicked off aside on the ground by force. As for the Detoxification Fruit in his hand, it was confiscated by another disciple forcefully.

Beside the elder is a youth a few years older than Qin Lan. Based on their robe with a hint of crimson, they should be disciples from the same rank. But the difference in treatment made Qin Lan questioned what actually happened here.

"Young man, please at least leave one fruit to my son. I don't mind if you want to take the others away, but please leave one for my son." the village chief said.

"In your dreams! Since your useless son is the one that causes us to lose close to ten disciples in the swamp, this will be the compensation!" said the one that forcefully taking the fruits.

"This fucker!" Qin Lan's head was filled with anger after hearing what that disciple said.

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[If you're not reading this at W-E-B-N-O-V-E-L, that means the one you're reading is likely pirated. Please support the author's work if you enjoy what you're reading in W-e-b-n-o-v-e-l. Thank you]

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