"We are disciples of the Qingyun Sect. I am Li Ling, this is my senior brother Zeng Shushu, my junior brother Zhang Xiaofan, and my junior sister Lu Xueqi. Greetings, Master Faxiang! Greetings, Master Fashan!"
Upon hearing Li Ling announce his sect affiliation, Fa Xiang was already slightly taken aback. Then, upon hearing Zhang Xiaofan's name, his expression changed slightly. He lowered his head and chanted a Buddhist prayer, saying, "I didn't expect the four of you to arrive so quickly. We thought you junior brothers would arrive a few days later."
"How could we keep Master Faxiang waiting! When did you arrive? Have you seen our senior brother Xiao Yicai who arrived earlier? Have you investigated the movements of the demonic sect? Have you discovered their plots these past few days?"
Li Ling greeted him with great enthusiasm, but ignored Li Xun completely, which greatly displeased him.
Li Xun finally couldn't help but speak up: "Junior brother, is your Qingyun Sect lacking in talent? How come all those who came this time are just greenhorns? Don't you even have a sensible leader?"
Upon hearing this, even Zhang Xiaofan, who had the best temper, couldn't help but turn cold. Just as he was about to speak, Li Ling waved his hand to stop him.
He smiled and said, "So there are two senior brothers and sisters here. They didn't greet us beforehand, so I overlooked them. Please don't take offense."
"But it's understandable that we can't see you since you two have your heads tilted so high up."
Upon hearing Li Ling's words, Lu Xueqi and Zhang Xiaofan both smiled and agreed, while Zeng Shushu even added fuel to the fire by saying, "Exactly, exactly."
Fa Shan, standing nearby, made no attempt to stop the two sides from arguing. The three major righteous sects appeared to be allies, but in reality, they had always been secretly competing with each other. Now that Qingyun Sect and Fenxiang Valley were at odds, they were happy to watch the show.
"You scoundrel, how dare you!!"
Faced with the obvious sarcasm in Li Ling's words, how could Li Xun, who had always lived a life of luxury and high status in Fenxiang Valley, tolerate it? He immediately summoned his magic weapon and was about to attack Li Ling.
Li Ling simply smiled easily, remaining motionless. He was determined that if the other party dared to make a move, he would definitely teach this guy a lesson. (The rest of the text appears to be unrelated and likely refers to a different character or symbol.)
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Chapter 350: Dividing Forces for Exploration
The three major righteous sects are, after all, still colleagues on the surface. Seeing that Li Ling and Li Xun were about to fight, Fa Xiang gave a wry smile and hurriedly stepped forward to stop Li Xun, advising him:
"Senior Brother Li, please don't make a move! Our three righteous sects are of one heart and mind. Now that the demonic sect has people around us, we must not let them laugh at us. Otherwise, personal honor is a small matter, but losing face for our teachers and sects would be a truly grave mistake!"
The light from the 'Nine Yang Ruler' in his hand flickered, mirroring the color of Li Xun's face. After a while, he angrily snorted and said, "I'll spare you today for the sake of Senior Brother Faxiang. But if you dare to be so rude again, I'll teach you what manners and respect are!"
Lu Xueqi stepped forward and said coldly, "I don't need to consider his feelings. If you're not satisfied, then come and fight! My senior brother doesn't need to lift a finger; I'll experience your exquisite Daoist techniques firsthand!"
Upon seeing that awe-inspiring and unapproachable demeanor, Li Xun couldn't help but pause slightly, his arrogance already weakening, but the next moment his anger flared up again.
Li Ling pulled Lu Xueqi's hand and drew her behind him, feigning displeasure, saying, "Xueqi, I was just waiting for Senior Brother Li to make his move so he would know that this world isn't the era where Master is number one and he's number two anymore. How could you rush to make your move?"
"What if you accidentally lose control and seriously injure him, and he then shamelessly clings to you?"
Li Lingke was not afraid of causing trouble at all. He knew that some teammates who were outwardly friendly but inwardly hostile were more terrifying than strong enemies, so he had no intention of giving in to their temper.
"you……!"
A surge of anger welled up inside him, whether from Li Ling's words or from the two people holding hands, he didn't know. But seeing the Dharma Image blocking his way, Li Xun had no choice but to give up.
Lu Xueqi blushed slightly when Li Ling grabbed her hand, but she didn't object. She gently pulled her hand away and then stood behind Zhang Xiaofan and Zeng Shushu.
Faxiang didn't know that Li Ling had never liked Li Xun from the beginning, but thought that Li Ling was young and impetuous and couldn't stand Li Xun's arrogance, so he advised, "Junior brother, we came here to let us young disciples get some experience. We should always try to be harmonious."
"If we fight amongst ourselves, wouldn't we become a laughingstock for those evil cultists?"
"In my humble opinion, it is getting late today, and once night falls, millions of bats will come out to hunt for food. It will be impossible to kill them all. How about we avoid the brunt of the attack for now and explore the Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats tomorrow?"
Li Ling knew that continuing to lash out would be disrespectful to Fa Xiang. He only gave Li Xun a hard time because Li Xun was arrogant, but he didn't have any ill feelings towards Fa Xiang. So he went along with it and said, "Fine, let's go!"
Faxiang bowed respectfully and silently recited the Buddha's name, then said, "Please follow me!"
The group immediately flew back on their swords in the direction from which Faxiang and the others had come.
...
The next day, just as dawn broke, Faxiang led everyone to the entrance of the Ten Thousand Bats Cave. With a sigh, Faxiang said, "Junior brother, this is the entrance to the Ten Thousand Bats Cave."
“We should have entered this ancient cave to explore it long ago, but firstly, the four of us are outnumbered and weak, and secondly, there are countless bats inside, making it very dangerous. As the saying goes, more people means more strength, so we have been waiting for you until now.”
Upon hearing this, Li Xun scoffed and said, "Actually, the four of us are enough. Adding a few more people would only hold us back!"
Li Ling surprisingly nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, Senior Brother Li is indeed an elite disciple of Burning Incense Valley. In that case, please go in quickly and deal with the demonic cultists inside."
"Those of us who can only hold others back and drag them down will stay here with Master Faxiang and the others to support Senior Brother Li and wait for his good news."
"I believe that once they hear of Senior Brother Li's formidable reputation, those demonic cultists will scatter like birds and beasts. Perhaps Senior Brother Li won't even need to lift a finger!"
"You... Hmph! I won't stoop to your level!" Li Xun snorted angrily, but then fell silent.
Fa Xiang looked helpless. Even at a time like this, he still went forward to cause trouble, only to be rebuffed. This Senior Brother Li seems to be too ignorant of his own limitations and is not someone to be trusted.
These two people share the same surname, Li, but how can there be such a huge difference between them!
However, after offering some words of comfort to Li Xun, he turned his gaze to the deep and boundless ancient cave and said solemnly, "There must be demons and monsters from the Demonic Sect causing trouble inside. We must be careful and not let them succeed in their sneak attack."
"The demons of the cult deserve to be killed by everyone! Master Faxiang is too hesitant!" With his mind still unsettled, Li Xun took the initiative to summon the Nine Yang Ruler and walked into the ancient cave by the faint light of the magic weapon!
Fa Xiang gave a bitter laugh, and then took out the Reincarnation Bead and stepped into the darkness!
Subsequently, Yan Hong, Zeng Shushu, Zhang Xiaofan, and others also entered one after another. Li Ling had been here before, so he wouldn't let everyone wander around aimlessly just because of the previous friction. Therefore, with his guidance, the group quickly crossed the bats' territory and arrived on the hard ground.
Looking up ahead, one can see a towering monument. The giant monument, which was broken last time, has now been repaired, and the four large characters "Heaven's Way is in My Hands" are extremely eye-catching.
Looking at the two paths before him, Li Ling turned to Faxiang and said, "There are two paths to choose from now on. I wonder what suggestions you have, Master?"
Fa Xiang looked back and saw that two deep cave entrances split off from here, both bottomless, with a chilling wind blowing out from within, making one feel cold to the bone. Thinking of Li Ling's guidance along the way, he asked, "I wonder if Junior Brother has any suggestions?"