The pursuit took over half a month, with starts and stops, but the return journey, traveling day and night, took only five days to reach the sect.
The Dinghu Sect, as its name suggests, is located by a lake called "Ding Lake."
Within the great lake, spanning three hundred li, are islands both large and small. The largest among them is called "Qiao Mountain," which is where the Dinghu Sect resides.
Seven grand halls, along with various pavilions and courtyards, are built alongside the towering mountain peaks. The halls are named after the Seven Stars [of the Big Dipper], arranged from lowest to highest, with Alkaid (Yaoguang) at the end and Dubhe (Tianshu) at the head.
Viewed from above, the seven great halls form a ladle shape, precisely matching the arrangement of the Big Dipper.
Jiang Li changed boats at the shore of Ding Lake and ascended the island, heading straight for Alkaid Hall, which handles sect missions. He then turned into a small room in the rear hall and tossed a wooden box onto a desk with a thud.
"Junior Brother Jiang!"
The young man behind the desk looked up, displeased, towards Jiang Li.
The youth wore the red robe signifying an inner disciple. He had a dignified bearing, and his sharp eyebrows were raised, giving him a somewhat imposing air.
"Senior Brother Luo Yi," Jiang Li stated his full name, his tone stiff. "The offending disciple, Zhou Mingyun, resisted arrest and defied sect law. I killed him on the spot. This is his head."
Saying this, he slapped the snake-fang dagger down onto the wooden box. "And his Dao Fruit."
Injecting True Qi into the dagger, a flicker of cruel and fierce aura flashed. Jiang Li said coldly, "If I hadn't coincidentally advanced just now, perhaps I would be the one whose head was cut off."
Luo Yi's face froze.
Just sensing the aura confirmed it was undoubtedly a Dao Fruit, and furthermore, a Demon-category one known for its malevolence.
In this matter, Alkaid Hall—or rather, Luo Yi himself—was in the wrong.
Although the mission to pursue Zhou Mingyun was assigned by an Alkaid Hall Elder, the classification of the mission's difficulty level was determined by Luo Yi after his investigation.
He had neglected his duty.
If this matter escalated, he, as the person who handled it, would definitely take the blame.
"This was my mistake," Luo Yi immediately changed his expression, looking apologetic. "How about this? The pursuit mission is worth five hundred merit points. I will personally compensate you an additional five hundred merit points as an apology. What do you say?"
"That won't do."
Jiang Li shook his head, his expression stern, and uttered three words: "Need more compensation."
Hearing the first part, Luo Yi's expression was about to turn cold, but upon hearing the last three words, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"No problem," Luo Yi quickly took out his disciple jade token. "Another thousand merit points, and you can keep the dagger as well. How about that?"
Meaning, this matter would be treated as a normal, unranked pursuit mission. Zhou Mingyun had not accommodated a Dao Fruit. At least, that's how it would be recorded in Alkaid Hall.
A disciple jade token was swiftly pressed against his. Jiang Li smiled, warm as a spring breeze, and said decisively, "It's settled then."
The Causality Collection dutifully recorded this scene.
[Both parties reached a pleasant consensus, concluding the matter. But as Jiang Li turned to leave, Luo Yi watched his departing figure, an imperceptible cold glint flashing in his eyes.]
'A cold glint...'
Jiang Li, turning his back to Luo Yi, didn't break stride but remained vigilant internally.
In reality, unless someone cultivated eye techniques, eyes absolutely wouldn't flash like camera flashes—cold one moment, sharp the next. At least, Jiang Li had never seen such a thing.
But in the Causality Collection's records, due to the nature of written description, metaphors were appropriately used for things difficult to describe precisely.
Based on Jiang Li's years of experience and keen intuition, 'cold glint' represented malice, perhaps even killing intent.
'Is it because of the fifteen hundred merit points? Or related to Zhou Mingyun's matter?'
If it was the former, it only indicated that Luo Yi was narrow-minded. Jiang Li had gained an enemy, but frankly, the threat wasn't significant.
If it was the latter, then things were a bit more complicated.
'It's better if it's the former, but I can't discount the latter. Besides, Zhou Mingyun didn't seem like someone worth setting up... which means, the intended target might have been me?'
A sense of urgency arose spontaneously.
He needed to increase his strength quickly.
Jiang Li calmly walked out of Alkaid Hall, ascending the white jade-like stone steps to reach the sixth hall, Phecda (Kaiyang) Hall.
Phecda Hall served as the main activity area for outer disciples.
Outside the hall was the Wuqu Terrace, where disciples practiced martial arts, and the disciples' dormitories were located nearby.
Inside the hall was the Lecture Hall, where an outer sect elder gave lessons every seven days.
In the courtyard behind Phecda Hall was the Dao Arts Pavilion, which housed Rank 8 and Rank 9 techniques. This was Jiang Li's destination.
He entered the rear courtyard and saw from afar two elderly men playing Go in front of the pavilion. Seeing Jiang Li approach, one of them, with white hair like a crane but a youthful complexion, immediately swept the Go board clear and stood up happily. "Little Jiang is here! No more playing."
With the game disrupted, the other elder glared, fuming.
Jiang Li approached and smiled, "Elder Yun is cheating again."
Saying this, he stepped closer and bowed, addressing the white-haired elder as 'Elder Yun,' and the other elder, who only had a few strands of white hair, as 'Elder Wan.'
Both were outer sect elders. Elder Wan was responsible for overseeing the Dao Arts Pavilion, while Elder Yun was his Go partner.
Hearing this, Elder Yun looked rather pleased with himself. "The Go board is like a battlefield, and in warfare, one should resort to any means necessary."
"Hmph, next time you dare make a move like that, I'll nail your hand to the board," Elder Wan retorted coldly.
"We'll worry about next time when it comes," Elder Yun replied nonchalantly.
The two elders bickering in front of Jiang Li clearly showed their unusual familiarity with him; they didn't put on airs as elders.
This was also the result of Jiang Li's efforts over the past two and a half years.
With the Causality Collection helping him read people, combined with the office politics skills honed in his previous life, it was relatively easy for Jiang Li to build rapport with someone.
"I can't be bothered arguing with you."
Elder Wan snorted, then looked at Jiang Li. Suddenly, his brow furrowed slightly, and his nostrils flared. "You've killed again?"
The smell of blood on Jiang Li should have dissipated after several days of travel, but Elder Wan had a keen sense of smell and caught the almost imperceptible scent upon meeting him.
"It couldn't be helped," Jiang Li said helplessly. "Blades have no eyes. In a life-and-death struggle, how could I hold back?"
"You might be the only one who believes that," Elder Wan said, somewhat displeased. "Last time, you blew someone up with a Fire Thunder Talisman until they were unrecognizable. If I hadn't vouched for you, you might not have even received the reward. Go back and recite the Mind Calming Mantra a few times to clear away that violent aura. Be more careful in the future. Acting like this will cause you regret when you advance to higher Dao Fruits later."
The Dinghu Sect's Dao Fruits weren't as ferocious as the Demon-category ones; many even had strict requirements regarding one's state of mind and disposition. Too much killing intent could lead to considerable complications during future advancements.
Jiang Li was aware of this, but his personal principle was: the only good enemy is a dead enemy.
To prevent being counter-killed, having the criminal escape midway, and various other accidents, Jiang Li's general approach towards enemies was: kill them if possible; retreat if not.
He had accepted seven pursuit or extermination missions. One he actively abandoned; in the other six, all targets were eliminated. There were never any captives.
It was thanks to this principle that Jiang Li rarely failed missions, allowing him to accumulate a good amount of merit points and come to the Dao Arts Pavilion to exchange for talisman arts and techniques immediately after his advancement.
"Disciple understands."
Jiang Li respectfully accepted Elder Wan's well-intentioned advice, promising to recite the Mind Calming Mantra ten-odd times upon returning.
As for holding back against enemies? Jiang Li believed one should stick to their principles and not change their initial intentions.
Elder Wan's expression softened slightly, and his tone eased a bit. "I hope so. Tell me, what do you want to exchange for this time?"
"Disciple has advanced to Rank 9, so naturally, I wish to exchange for Rank 9 talisman arts. Additionally, I'd like to learn a martial art for self-defense," Jiang Li stated immediately.
If it were another disciple, they would have to search for techniques themselves within the Dao Arts Pavilion, uncertain if they were suitable. With an outer disciple's experience, just reading the introduction isn't enough to fully grasp the intricacies of a technique.
But Jiang Li was different. He had connections.
Elder Wan pondered for a moment, then said, "Area C, the third bookshelf, contains the most comprehensive illustrated guide to Rank 9 talisman arts. You can choose the talismans you wish to exchange from there, then find the specific scrolls on the corresponding shelves. As for martial arts... a Daoist's abilities lean towards True Qi control, so you should cultivate a martial art that excels in variations. Let me think..."
"Actually, I know a martial art suitable for you, Little Jiang," Elder Yun suddenly interjected, a cryptic smile on his face. "This technique is a supreme divine art. Once mastered, you'll be halfway to invincibility—you could call it half-step invincible. If you're interested, Little Jiang, you can look for it in Area Gui, the last bookshelf, bottom layer."
"The last area, last bookshelf, bottom layer... How come I don't know of any supreme divine technique there?" Elder Wan muttered.
As the elder overseeing the Dao Arts Pavilion, how could he possibly be less knowledgeable about the techniques within than someone else?
After pondering for a moment, Elder Wan said to Jiang Li, "The Dao Arts Pavilion houses a vast collection of books. Perhaps there really is some excellent hidden technique. You can follow that old trickster's directions and look for this so-called divine art. If you can't find it, then search bookshelves three, four, and five in Area B."
"Thank you, Elders." Jiang Li expressed his gratitude and then entered the Dao Arts Pavilion.