Chapter 69

(Today is New Year's Eve, I wish everyone a happy new year. May you have a wonderful Year of the Horse, achieve success, gain wealth, and enjoy good fortune. Also, thank you to 'Wu Bian Ji Mao' for the generous tip and to '☆Shan Qing Shui Xiu' for your support. I wish all the readers a happy Year of the Horse.)

As the two men's right arms were pierced by the flying leaves, their attacks simultaneously weakened, and the swords in their hands became unsteady. For a moment, they only felt a sudden loss of strength in their hands but did not understand what had happened.

At the same time, the combined sword technique of the two men also failed.

Being pierced in the arm was not a fatal injury, but the Elder Yuan on the opposite side would not let this obvious mistake go unexploited.

Almost the moment the two men's sword techniques showed a flaw, Elder Yuan, who was decisive, forcefully summoned the true qi in his body and drew a mysterious sword pattern.

As the sword technique concluded, two heads rolled from the front, and soon after, blood columns several feet high spurted from the necks of the two Tianquan Sect leaders' headless corpses.

The two bodies fell to the ground with a thud.

Only then did the old man with the white beard let out a sigh of relief. However, due to the forced summoning of true qi, the old man's face turned deathly pale, and the backlash from the Yin Palm technique surged.

Then, the old man's vision went black, and he eventually fainted.

Only then did Ding Qi, who had orchestrated everything, gently land from the tree.

Standing next to the old man with the white beard, Ding Qi looked at the unconscious Elder Yuan, bent down, and took the black iron token with the words 'Patriarch' from his waist, examining it closely.

"This is indeed the Patriarch's token of the Green Cloud Sect," Ding Qi muttered to himself after a while.

...

Three hours later, in the medicinal garden where Ding Qi was. Ding Qi stood quietly in the room, watching the old man with the white beard, whose face alternated between red, white, and blue.

Then, a mouthful of dirty blood was spat out by the Elder Yuan.

As the dirty blood was spat out, the strange alternating colors on the old man's face finally disappeared, and he slowly returned to a normal complexion.

Soon, Elder Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

"How are you, Elder Yuan? Has the hidden force of the Yin Palm been expelled?" Ding Qi asked as Elder Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

Elder Yuan laughed with pleasure at Ding Qi's question and then said, "Hehe, thank you for your concern, young friend. The hidden force of the Yin Palm has already been expelled by this old man. This time, I owe my life to you. Otherwise, even if I had escaped the pursuit of the Tianquan Sect, I would have died in the Seven霞 Mountains."

"If it weren't for you, not only would I have lost my life, but the important plan of the sect would have failed. I will certainly recommend you for commendation when I return to the Green Cloud Sect."

Ding Qi smiled modestly and replied, "Elder Yuan, you are too kind. I was just hunting in the mountains and happened to find you unconscious. I couldn't claim any credit for this. My uncle once told me that the sect had been kind to him. If there is a way to repay the sect, I should do my best. How could I not do my best when I encountered someone from the sect on the mountain?"

After Ding Qi finished speaking, Elder Yuan nodded and said, "Before I treated my injuries, you mentioned your uncle, who has served the sect for many years. It seems he is indeed loyal to the sect, which is truly rare. However, no matter what, I owe you a life. If I had been unconscious in the mountains, I would have been devoured by wild beasts in the Seven霞 Mountains. I will never forget your rescue."

As he spoke, Elder Yuan's face showed a serious expression.

...

When Ding Qi found the unconscious Elder Yuan in the Seven霞 Mountains and saw the 'Patriarch's token,' he quickly carried him down the mountain and placed him in the medicinal garden, then woke him up. When Elder Yuan asked, Ding Qi only told him that he had found him unconscious in the deep mountains while hunting and recognized him from the 'Patriarch's token' on his waist, thus saving him.

During their conversation, Elder Yuan learned that Ding Qi was an outer sect member of the Green Cloud Sect, which made the old man with the white beard feel very fortunate.

Elder Yuan clearly knew that the Seven霞 Mountains were extremely dangerous. When he fainted in the deep mountains, the situation was very perilous. If he hadn't been saved by Ding Qi, even if he had successfully killed the two opponents from the Tianquan Sect, he would still have died.

As for the tricks Ding Qi played during the fight between Elder Yuan and the Tianquan Sect members, Elder Yuan was not aware. At the time, Elder Yuan had already been hit by the Yin Palm and was in a daze. He could only barely hold out against the two men. Otherwise, he wouldn't have fainted immediately after gathering his true qi.

He naturally couldn't detect that there was another person present besides the three of them.

Elder Yuan only thought that the two men had made a mistake in their sword technique, which allowed him to seize the opportunity and kill them.

...

Soon, after Elder Yuan had finally recovered from his injuries, he and Ding Qi went to the Tongfu Inn.

The arrival of the sect elder at the Tongfu Inn was a great surprise. The Green Cloud Sect disciple who had been in charge of the inn for the past two years, replacing Old Bai, clearly recognized Elder Yuan. The respectful attitude of the Green Cloud Sect disciple made everyone at the Tongfu Inn realize the elder's high status within the sect.

However, Elder Yuan did not pay much attention to the reactions of the people at the Tongfu Inn. After obtaining a batch of horses from the inn, he prepared to rush to the headquarters of the Green Cloud Sect that night.

"Ding Xiaoyou, I have already remembered this favor. However, the mission I am on is extremely important. I must hurry to Green Cloud Mountain. I cannot stay here any longer today. But once I return to the sect, I will certainly repay you for this favor," Elder Yuan said before leaving.

Elder Yuan, clearly having an urgent task, immediately set off for the headquarters of the Green Cloud Sect after recovering from his injuries.

It seemed that his injuries and being pursued by the Tianquan Sect were all related to the important mission of the Green Cloud Sect.

Soon, Elder Yuan mounted his horse and disappeared into the night.

After Elder Yuan left, the people at the Tongfu Inn couldn't help but ask about the matter. After all, they had all seen that the high-ranking Elder Yuan of the Green Cloud Sect was extremely grateful to Ding Qi.

Ding Qi, out of helplessness, had to repeat the story he had made up for Elder Yuan, which made the people at the Tongfu Inn envious, marveling at Ding Qi's good luck for saving an elder of the Green Cloud Sect by chance.

The Green Cloud Sect disciple in charge of the Tongfu Inn was particularly regretful that he hadn't been there, lamenting his lack of such good fortune and missing a chance to achieve great merit. Otherwise, he could have soared to the top in the Green Cloud Sect.

However, no one at the Tongfu Inn noticed that when Ding Qi looked in the direction of Elder Yuan's departure, a faint smile appeared on his face, as if he had completed some plan.

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