The front yard of the Thunderfire Hall.
Lu Jin and his group quickly rushed to the scene, only to find Qian Shan covered in blood, his face deathly pale. Instantly, everyone's expressions turned incredibly grim.
“Qian Shan, what happened?! Where the hell did these bandits come from, daring to raid our Thunderfire Hall's medicinal garden?!” the hot-tempered Lu Jinglei roared first, his face twisting into a ferocious scowl.
“Hall Master, it's the Peach Mountain Bandits! They attacked the medicinal garden and plundered the mature Moon Spirit Grass!” Qian Shan gasped, enduring his internal injuries as he spoke in a rush.
“The Peach Mountain Bandits?”
Lu Jin's aged face grew exceptionally cold. Beside him, Lu Ming turned to Lu Qingyan and asked, “Father, who are they?”
With a dark expression, Lu Qingyan replied, “They are a band of notorious rogue bandit cultivators entrenched in the Peach Miasma Mountains, hundreds of li away from Qingyuan Ward. These scoundrels are infamous for plundering passing merchant caravans. Whenever they face a suppression campaign, they retreat into the mountain range and use the peach miasma to hide. That's how they've survived to this day. They're a cancer on the region surrounding Qingyuan Ward.
“Most importantly, the leader of the Peach Mountain Bandits, named Guo Kui, is a Feather Robe Master. Under him are six other Grand Divine Ability Practitioners. Their strength as a group cannot be underestimated.”
Lu Ming's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this. The Peach Mountain Bandits actually had a Feather Robe Master? This was no ordinary band of rogue bandits!
“This time, the Peach Mountain Bandits dispatched three Grand Divine Ability Practitioners to attack the medicinal garden. Furthermore, they had planted a mole within our guard team. That mole destroyed the nodes of the Azure Light Restriction, preventing me from activating it in time. Ultimately, they breached the medicinal garden and plundered the mature Moon Spirit Grass,” Qian Shan said, gritting his teeth.
“Damn it!” Lu Jinglei's furious roar made the roof shake, dust filtering down. The killing intent in his eyes almost materialized.
The medicinal garden was the product of many years of painstaking cultivation by the Thunderfire Hall, and its revenue was a crucial pillar supporting the hall. Now, just as harvest season arrived, they had suddenly been raided. It was enough to make anyone boil with rage.
Bone-chilling killing intent also flickered in Lu Jin's eyes, but he did not fly into a rage like Lu Jinglei. Instead, he asked, “What is the extent of the damage to the medicinal garden? How many of the medicinal fields were saved?”
Although that batch of mature Moon Spirit Grass represented the medicinal garden's entire harvest for the year, the fields themselves were what truly mattered—they were the foundation of all their hard work.
“They were mainly focused on plundering. Although they destroyed a few fields in the process, fortunately, most of the medicinal fields were undamaged. However, those fields only contain seedlings and immature Moon Spirit Grass...” Qian Shan replied.
“Furthermore, as they retreated, they even laughed and said they would return to harvest again when the Moon Spirit Grass matures next year.”
Hearing this, everyone's indignation boiled over. Even Lu Ming could not help but show killing intent in his eyes. What did these bastards think the Thunderfire Hall was?
Lu Jin's aged face calmed down significantly. He said, “It is fine as long as the medicinal fields are still intact.”
“Father, why would the Peach Mountain Bandits suddenly target our Thunderfire Hall's medicinal garden? Although they frequently roam and commit crimes, they rarely approached within a hundred li of Qingyuan Ward in the past, and our medicinal garden is right within this range,” Lu Qingyan said in a low, suppressed tone, reining in his anger.
“Moreover, the timing they chose was far too perfect. It was exactly when the Moon Spirit Grass was maturing, and they had even planted a mole beforehand. This is clearly not a spontaneous act, but a well-premeditated plan!”
“What do you think?” Lu Jin asked.
Beside them, Lu Ming's eyes flickered slightly, sensing that something was amiss.
In the past, the Thunderfire Hall and the Peach Mountain Bandits had minded their own business. Though they had occasionally clashed while escorting merchant caravans, there was no deep-seated hatred between them. Yet this time, the other party had targeted the Thunderfire Hall's medicinal garden, which was a clear declaration of enmity.
“Although the batch of mature Moon Spirit Grass in the medicinal garden is quite valuable, its market value is only around five thousand grains of heavenly gold sand. To make an enemy out of our Thunderfire Hall for this amount doesn't seem worth it no matter how you look at it. Thus, I wonder if another faction offered the Peach Mountain Bandits greater benefits, using them as a blade to strike at our Thunderfire Hall,” Lu Qingyan said slowly.
Hearing him speak up to this point, even Lu Jinglei understood. With a dark expression, he said, “Big Brother, do you mean... the Golden Gang Sword Hall?”
Over the past month, the Thunderfire Hall had been thriving, and its prestige in Qingyuan Ward was steadily growing. More and more disciples were coming for the cultivation environment of high-grade primordial energy. The number of disciples in the hall had already begun to approach that of the Golden Gang Sword Hall.
Initially, Lu Qingyan and the others had been on guard against the Golden Gang Sword Hall, wondering if they would make any moves, but they had remained surprisingly quiet, as if they had accepted this state of affairs.
The month-long silence from the Golden Gang Sword Hall had allowed Lu Qingyan and the others to relax their tense nerves slightly. Yet who could have anticipated such a sudden and drastic turn of events today?
The Golden Gang Sword Hall had not made a move, but instead, the Peach Mountain Bandits, those vicious wolves descending from the mountains, had arrived.
At this moment, Lu Ming also spoke with a cold gaze, “Once the Moon Spirit Grass matures, we are to hand it over to the Li family. The fact that the Li family is purchasing it at double the price this time is no secret either; anyone who wished to find out could easily obtain this information.
“This revenue is very important to the Thunderfire Hall right now. If Lin Changkong knew about it, he would very likely find a way to disrupt it. However, since it would be inappropriate for him to directly attack us, hiring the notorious bandit cultivators of the Peach Mountain Bandits is indeed a clever tactic.
“And now that the Thunderfire Hall's medicinal garden has been plundered, the news spreading will damage our reputation. It also happens to suppress the momentum of the Thunderfire Hall's rise, killing several birds with one stone.”
Although Lin Changkong was a True Primordial Energy Master and the Golden Gang Sword Hall was powerful, they could not simply lead a crowd to slaughter their way into the Thunderfire Hall. The Ward Office would not sit idly by and watch such a rule-breaking act. After all, Lin Changkong was not yet powerful enough to ignore the rules of Qingyuan Ward.
He was only a True Primordial Energy Master, not a Divine Ability Grandmaster!
Lu Jin nodded slowly and said in a calm voice, “This is highly characteristic of Lin Changkong's scheming and ruthlessness.”
However, even if they could guess that Lin Changkong was behind this, everyone understood that such speculation was meaningless. After all, it was impossible to directly march into the Golden Gang Sword Hall to seek revenge without clear proof.
Doing so would only give Lin Changkong a perfect excuse to make his move.
“Father, what should we do? Are we just going to endure this? If we don't respond to the plundering of our medicinal garden, the Thunderfire Hall's prestige will inevitably suffer,” Lu Jinglei asked, unwilling to let it slide.
“For now, the Peach Mountain Bandits are the ones who have stepped forward, so this grudge can only be placed on their heads first.”
Lu Jin said calmly, “I will go to the medicinal garden first to assess the situation. I have my Feather Robe, so my travel speed will be faster. Eldest, keep an eye on the hall and maintain order to prevent any panic or unrest when the news gets out.
“Qian Shan, get some rest first.
“Ming'er, you can continue to the Ward Office and see if you can get any information from Ward Master Zhou Xuan.”
He arranged everyone's tasks in an orderly fashion, and his composed demeanor did much to put everyone's minds at ease.
“Grandfather.”
Seeing Lu Jin about to set off, Lu Ming stepped forward and reminded him in a low voice.
“When you return from the medicinal garden, bring back a batch of immature Moon Spirit Grass. I want to try something.”
This so-called trial was naturally to test the special effect of Life's Flame, which was adept at nurturing all kinds of plants and increasing the age of spiritual herbs. Previously, Lu Ming had not broken through, and his primordial energy was too weak to bring out its effects. But now that he had made his breakthrough today and even condensed four Divine Ability Dharma Inscriptions, many things he previously could not do were finally within his grasp.
For example, nurturing medicinal herbs.
Or, the fire fusion method known as Buddha's Fury Flame Lotus.
Lu Jin was slightly startled, then recalled something. His eyes could not help but brighten, and the gloom that had been hanging over his face faded slightly. He then smiled and nodded in agreement.
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