Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure Chapter 38

"Feng Bugui!"

"It's him!"

The figure that walked out at this moment was none other than Gu Xiu, who had ventured deeper into the bamboo grove earlier to scout the path.

When the convoy realized they were trapped by a formation, panic had ensued, and everyone had been forced to look out for themselves. They had completely forgotten about Gu Xiu.

Actually, saying they forgot isn't quite right. It would be more accurate to say that most people assumed the outcome: Feng Bugui was undoubtedly doomed!

After all, although it was rare for someone at the fourth layer of Qi Refining to achieve Dao Enlightenment, he was currently only at the seventh layer. What chance did someone with such cultivation have when trapped in a grand formation that even a Golden Core cultivator would find helpless?

Certain death!

But now, this very person, whom everyone considered a corpse, had emerged unscathed from the ruins of the bamboo grove!

It was impossible not to be astonished. The most shocked were Su Rumei and the Shadow, who had discerned the intricacies and dangers of the formation.

"The formation was suddenly broken just now... could it have been his doing?"

"Is this person proficient in formations?"

"But this is the Green Bamboo Traps the Dragon Array. It requires significant resources and time to set up. Once activated, even a Golden Core cultivator would find it hard to escape. Could he really have broken it?"

"If this formation was truly broken by him, then we must befriend him. He could become a distinguished guest of our Wanbao Pavilion!"

The two quickly reached a conclusion, their gazes towards Gu Xiu filled with shock and awe.

Many cultivators knew a bit about formation techniques, but most only knew ordinary, common arrays. A true formation master was someone who could comprehend the underlying principles, find a formation's weak points, and break them accordingly! Such people were exceedingly rare.

This Green Bamboo Traps the Dragon Array was incredibly powerful. If an ordinary formation master were trapped within it, they would likely be just as helpless.

This meant that if Feng Bugui truly broke this formation, his attainments must be formidable! His value would rise immeasurably—even more precious than his Dao Enlightenment talent!

However, while Su Rumei and the Shadow were reeling with shock, several mocking voices rose from within the caravan.

"That kid actually isn't dead yet?"

"His life is truly tenacious."

"It must be that something went wrong with the formation just now. Otherwise, this kid would probably have been pierced through by ten thousand bamboos!"

"If I'm not mistaken, that was the Green Bamboo Traps the Dragon Array. It's said to be incredibly profound and costly to set up. But if there's an error during its deployment, the entire formation can collapse immediately. It must have been luck."

"..."

These conversations made Su Rumei frown slightly. She glanced over and saw it was those few ninth-layer Qi Refining rogue cultivators who had previously antagonized Gu Xiu.

Ignoring them, Su Rumei immediately went to Gu Xiu. "Fellow Daoist Feng, are you alright?"

Seeing Gu Xiu shake his head indicating he was fine, Su Rumei couldn't wait to ask, "What did Fellow Daoist Feng do just now?"

"Didn't do much. Just chopped some bamboo and killed some people," Gu Xiu replied flatly.

But it was precisely this flat response that sent shockwaves through Su Rumei's heart.

Chopped some bamboo... Could he have destroyed the eye of this Green Bamboo Traps the Dragon Array?

And as for killing some people... Could it be that those who set up the formation have already been slain?

Just as Su Rumei was about to press for details, she heard Gu Xiu say, "The path ahead is clear now. We can continue on our way so we can reach Yunxiao City as soon as possible."

"Oh... oh, right!" Su Rumei snapped back to reality and immediately ordered the caravan to move on.

After she arranged everything and looked back... she saw Gu Xiu had already taken his wooden staff and entered her carriage.

This...

Su Rumei hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn't stop him because she noticed those rogue cultivators were still discussing loudly.

"What are you saying? You think that kid broke the Green Bamboo Traps the Dragon Array? Don't joke around; does a seventh-layer Qi Refining kid have that capability?"

"Even if it's not top-tier, it's still a proper grand formation. Even a skilled formation master would need time to break it, right? And they'd need cultivation base support too!"

"Do you really think randomly chopping a few bamboos can break a formation? That's nonsense!"

"As for killing people? That's even more nonsense. Maybe the kid just made it up to claim credit or boast. Even if not for credit, maybe they were just a few petty thieves."

"..."

The one leading the mockery was a burly rogue cultivator with a scar on his face. Su Rumei knew this man. His name was Mou Xingsheng, nicknamed 'Mad Victory Blade'. He once fought against a Great Perfection Qi Refining cultivator while at the ninth layer and killed his opponent. He became famous after that battle and gained considerable respect among rogue cultivators.

This Mou Xingsheng was also adept at managing things; relying on his reputation, he gathered a group of rogue cultivators and formed a small gang called the 'Victory Gang'. They mainly took on jobs where merchant associations or sects needed external help.

The Victory Gang not only bullied rogue cultivators without power or backing, but they also started causing trouble for some sect forces. Like this time, when Wanbao Pavilion hired them, Mou Xingsheng not only jacked up prices on the spot but also demanded several carriages belonging to them to boost their prestige.

This greatly displeased Su Rumei, but after weighing things, she ultimately agreed to their fee. However, she refused the carriages as a form of reprimand.

"It seems Mou Xingsheng saw you giving Feng Bugui his own carriage, so he wants to target him," the Shadow said.

"Probably more than that," Su Rumei shook her head. "I heard the Victory Gang hasn't been too stable lately. Mou Xingsheng probably wants to use suppressing an outsider like Feng Bugui to discipline his own members."

"A ragtag bunch. Their cultivation isn't high; they're only good at scheming. This so-called Victory Gang might as well be wiped out with a wave of your hand."

"Can't do that. As long as the Victory Gang behaves properly, they're beneficial for us," Su Rumei shook her head. As a manager, she had many considerations.

The Shadow understood and changed the subject. "Do you think what he said is true or false? That Green Bamboo Traps the Dragon Array... was it really broken by Feng Bugui?"

This...

Su Rumei frowned slightly. She couldn't help but have doubts too. After all, Gu Xiu's strength truly seemed too weak. Seventh-layer Qi Refining may count as late-stage, but facing such a grand formation... it ultimately seemed insufficient.

"Let's move forward; maybe we'll see something," Su Rumei finally said. "Didn't Feng Bugui say he chopped some bamboo and killed some people? Later we'll see what kind of bamboo he chopped and what kind of people he killed; then we'll know."

The Shadow nodded. The two immediately became vigilant.

They traveled for a while. Sure enough, just as Gu Xiu said, the road ahead was clear; they encountered no dangers. They didn't even know who the mysterious assailant was.

After traveling further, something suddenly caught their attention ahead.

"Stop!"

"Wait, what is this?"

"These few green bamboos... why are they broken off here? They were chopped down!"

Ahead of the caravan appeared several broken bamboo stalks. Each was as thick as an ordinary person's thigh, faintly carved with formation patterns and emanating subtle spiritual energy fluctuations.

And these green bamboos... without exception... were all chopped cleanly in half.

"Is this what that Feng Bugui meant by 'chopped bamboo'?"

"Hahahaha! Just chopping down a few broken bamboos—is that worth mentioning specifically?"

"What did I say earlier? The Green Bamboo Traps the Dragon Array absolutely couldn't have been broken by him! With his cultivation level, he can only chop down some broken bamboos."

Seeing this, Mou Xingsheng immediately sneered derisively. The group of cultivators following him also burst into mocking laughter.

"Have you noticed..." someone suddenly asked, "Earlier, those countless bamboo groves all turned to ashes... why haven't these few broken bamboos disappeared?"

Huh?

Everyone froze momentarily.

Immediately afterwards, they saw several people who had gone ahead near those broken bamboos—after carefully observing them—suddenly let out exclamations of shock.