Chapter 26: Halfway Through the Main Quest

Su Hao gently tucked the storage bag into his robes. Seeing this, the leading cultivator slowly sheathed his sword, then offered a deep, sincere bow to Su Hao and his companions. His voice carried a touch of gratitude mixed with curiosity as he spoke:

"My heartfelt thanks to the four of you for your timely intervention. Judging by the attire of these three, they must be disciples of the Righteous Gate. But may I ask, brother, to which sect do you belong?"

Su Hao’s lips curled into a faint, enigmatic smile. His gaze was deep and distant, yet he offered no direct answer, merely shaking his head with a calm tone:

"I am a fellow traveler, much like them. As for my sect, let us leave that aside for now; it is of no great importance."

Inwardly, he mused that he was an outsider, bound by a contract with the Universal Environmental Protection Agency. If such an identity were revealed, it would likely invite unnecessary trouble, so caution was the better part of valor.

At this moment, Wen Xiaochuan seemed to sense Su Hao’s reservations. He stepped forward with a warm smile and took the initiative to introduce them:

"This senior, you must be the eldest disciple of the Taiyi Gate, Brother Xuanjizi, correct? Your reputation is renowned throughout the cultivation world—there is no one who has not heard of your name."

A flicker of surprise crossed Xuanjizi’s eyes, though he quickly regained his composure. He gave a slight nod to Wen Xiaochuan and replied with humility:

"Oh? So you are disciples of the Righteous Gate. Forgive my lack of recognition. And you, brother, who might you be?"

Wen Xiaochuan bowed respectfully once more and answered with poise:

"I am Wen Xiaochuan, an inner disciple of the Righteous Gate. It is an honor to meet you, Brother Xuanjizi."

"These two are my fellow disciples, Xuanhuizi and Xuanxuanzi," Xuanjizi said, beckoning his two juniors forward to introduce them one by one.

Xuanhuizi and Xuanxuanzi quickly stepped forward, bowing formally to Su Hao and the others, expressing their gratitude profusely with faces full of sincerity.

Xuanxuanzi, driven by curiosity, could not help but ask:

"Brother Qingming, do you hail from south of the Tongtian River? I have heard my master say that the cultivation environment there is far superior to ours. We originally intended to migrate south, but the northern bank of the Tongtian River has been completely sealed off by those detestable evil cultivators. There is no way through. How did you manage to cross over?"

Su Hao merely smiled again, not answering the question directly, but instead cleverly countering:

"How is the situation at the Taiyi Gate now? We have a base nearby with quite a decent environment. If you are willing, you could take shelter there and continue your cultivation in peace."

Xuanjizi hesitated, his eyes reflecting his inner conflict. After a moment of thought, he politely declined:

"I appreciate your kindness, Brother Qingming, but we have over a dozen juniors with us. If we were all to move in, I fear it would cause you significant inconvenience. It is better that we do not."

Su Hao did not give up. He knew that this encounter was no mere coincidence; it was a twist of fate that he could not afford to let slip by.

He continued to persuade them patiently:

"Not at all, you would be most welcome. By joining forces, we can not only work together to resist those evil cultivators and look out for one another, but we can also exchange insights on our cultivation. As the saying goes, there is strength in numbers. Don’t you agree, Brother Xuanjizi?"

Xuanjizi fell into deep thought at these words. He understood well that while there had always been friction between the sects, with the current scourge of evil cultivators threatening everyone’s survival, unity was truly the only path forward.

However, the deep-seated prejudices fostered between the sects over the years were not so easily dissolved.

He let out a helpless sigh and said slowly:

"That is true in principle, but we are from different sects; there will inevitably be barriers. Although we are all persecuted by these evil cultivators and harbor a deep hatred for them, living together would indeed present many difficulties. I hope you can understand, Brother Qingming."

Seeing this, Su Hao pondered. Since they had met today, it was a rare opportunity. If he could convince them to relocate to the Righteous Gate's base, they could grow accustomed to each other and devise a grand strategy to eradicate the evil cultivators.

Moreover, his primary mission was to help the three sects establish an alliance against the evil forces; this was the perfect opening.

Thus, he spoke again with sincerity:

"Brother Xuanjizi, since fate brought us together, let us take it as a sign. If you are willing, you can come to our place for a brief rest. As for the future, we can discuss it slowly. I firmly believe that as long as we are united in heart, we can overcome the obstacles before us."

Under Su Hao’s repeated and sincere persuasion, Xuanjizi was eventually moved. He agreed to lead his fifteen juniors to temporarily follow Su Hao to the Righteous Gate’s stronghold.

They all knew that the Taiyi Gate was on the verge of collapse; these dozen or so people were perhaps the last sparks of hope for their sect. They had to persist, and they could not easily refuse this offer of aid, as it concerned the very survival of their sect.

Two hours later, Xuanjizi and his group, led by Su Hao and his companions, marched toward the territory of the Righteous Gate.

Each of them felt a mixture of anticipation and unease, but more than that, they were filled with hope for the future, as if they could already see the day when the evil cultivators would be defeated and peace restored.

While they were still some distance from the site of their previous battle, Su Hao suddenly sensed a change.

He spotted a group of evil cultivators from afar, moving rapidly toward the location where he had rescued Xuanjizi. It turned out the leader of the evil cultivators he had chased earlier had sent out a distress signal to nearby units while fleeing.

The evil cultivators had received word that there were only seven cultivators present, unaware that Su Hao’s group now numbered twenty.

Su Hao signaled for everyone to stop and informed them of the twelve approaching enemies. He then looked at Xuanjizi, his gaze inquiring:

"Brother Xuanjizi, shall we take these villains down?"

Xuanjizi understood his intent immediately and replied without hesitation:

"Let’s do it! We will divide our sect’s disciples into three groups, and you, Brother Qingming, will form the fourth. We shall surround them from all sides—like wrapping a dumpling—and catch them off guard."

Su Hao nodded in agreement. "Very well. We will flank them from the rear, and then we shall all attack at once."

With that, he led the three from the Righteous Gate, moving swiftly toward the front right to circle behind the enemy. Meanwhile, the other three teams moved left, right, and forward, closing in on the evil cultivators from all directions.

When the four of them quietly reached the rear of the enemy unit, the evil cultivators remained entirely unaware of the impending danger, completely off guard.

Seeing that the encirclement was complete, Su Hao made a split-second decision. With a wave of his hand, he charged at the enemies, and his three companions followed without hesitation.

"What is this? They said there were only seven! Why are there so many, and why are we surrounded? Run!"

The leader of the evil cultivators panicked and shouted in distress upon realizing the situation.

Su Hao swung his sword at the leader, a man in gray robes with a red cap. The leader dodged quickly, but instead of fighting back, he turned and fled, looking utterly pathetic.

In combat, fleeing was a death sentence; had he resisted, he might have survived a little longer.

By running, the evil cultivators exposed their backs entirely to Su Hao. He would not miss such an opportunity. He gripped his sword tightly and thrust it deep into the leader’s back, his movements clean and decisive.

"Ah!"

The leader let out a shrill scream, then collapsed with a thud, kicking his legs once before falling silent, his life extinguished.

At that moment, the system notification echoed in Su Hao’s mind:

【Side quest progress increased by 1. Universal Cleaning Stone +1. Total progress: 10.】

Su Hao quickly retrieved the leader’s storage bag and lunged at another nearby enemy. With a single sweep of his blade, the cultivator’s head fell, and blood sprayed into the air.

【Side quest progress increased by 1. Universal Cleaning Stone +1. Total progress: 11.】

Seeing seven or eight evil cultivators left—some fleeing in a panic, others putting up a desperate struggle—Su Hao chased after another fleeing enemy.

As that one fell dead as well, the system notification sounded again:

【Side quest progress increased by 1. Universal Cleaning Stone +1. Total progress: 13.】

By now, all the evil cultivators were dead. Black mist swirled around their corpses, as if a sense of relief from a long-awaited vengeance permeated the air, carrying a strange, eerie quality.

Meanwhile, wisps of white vapor dissipated slowly into the sky, as if mending the heavens that had been tarnished by the evil cultivators, restoring the sky to its former purity.

After Xuanjizi had properly arranged for his juniors to clear the land left in shambles by the fierce battle, he walked slowly toward Su Hao.

He bowed with clasped hands, his expression full of genuine sincerity and admiration:

"Brother Qingming, what happened today has truly shown me your foresight. If not for your timely intervention, we would never have achieved such a fruitful result. Thinking back on my initial thoughts, I feel deeply ashamed. At the time, I was only thinking of doing the bare minimum. Your life-saving grace is akin to a rebirth; how could such a debt ever be easily repaid?"

"However, after this battle, I have made up my mind. I will convince the rest of my juniors that our two groups should join forces and move forward together to forge a glorious path."

Su Hao nodded gently, his gaze steady and warm. He inwardly triggered the interface to check the progress of the crucial main quest:

【Main Quest Completion: 50%】