With the Xuantian Order changing hands and the truth coming to light, everything that followed unfolded naturally.
The day after the competition concluded, the leaders of the six major sects—Qingling Mountain, Jade Rhinoceros Valley, Divine Evolution Temple, Wansheng Palace, Qian Yuan Sect, and Tianluo Witch Sect—all arrived in Dizhou City in person.
As the six most powerful figures on the Xuantian Continent, they effortlessly breached the protective formation of the Purple Flame Realm, subdued the stubborn resistance of the Purple Flame Realm’s elder council, and even raided the Di family’s estate.
Before this, no one could have imagined that the largest den of evil on the Xuantian Continent had been hidden within the forbidden grounds of the Xuantian Order’s master.
Thus, the Di family completely collapsed, and every faction secretly colluding with them was systematically purged.
Now, as the new leader of the seven major sects, Qingling Academy was bustling with activity from top to bottom—from the sect leader and pavilion masters to the elders and senior disciples—everyone was busy, except for the six who were still recovering from their injuries.
From dawn till dusk, the academy was a constant flurry of movement. No sooner had one person rushed off with a task than another hurried in to report urgent matters.
Elder Cao Xing was so busy he barely had time to set foot on the ground, let alone take a sip of tea, making him miss Four Hundred Bucks all the more.
But Four Hundred Bucks was on vacation.
It had modified far too many demon-sealing arrays in the Sacred Tower and was exhausted. It had requested half a month’s leave from Cao Xing.
It just wanted to be a useless brush for a while.
So at this moment, a wooden puppet brush and a giant man-eating flower were playing on the roof of the Endless House.
Four Hundred Bucks was searching for a spot to carve the words "Wen Shuangbai and Four Hundred Bucks Exclusive Property," but the Endless House was a treasure of Qingling Mountain—how could it be so easily marked?
Frustrated, the brush hopped back and forth across the roof.
Ninety Million, annoyed, flicked it off with a single leaf.
Then, with a graceful leap, the flower opened its maw and swallowed a sword-riding cultivator whole.
Nearby cultivators, accustomed to this sight, casually dodged and chatted among themselves.
"Haha, not me this time!"
"Not me either—I was prepared!"
"Brother Zhang’s reflexes are too slow. Serves him right, haha!"
"Ahahaha…"
Amid their laughter, the group landed in Qingling Academy and went to report to Cao Xing, complaining that the man-eating flower had devoured another cultivator.
Meanwhile, Four Hundred Bucks had just crawled out of the dirt when it heard Elder Cao’s furious shout from the main hall:
"Wen Shuangbai! Control your damn flower!"
Inside the Endless House, the injured six were playing cards in the main hall.
Amid the heated game, Wen Shuangbai nudged Xie Ziyin with her elbow. "Hear that? Old Cao wants you to handle your stupid flower."
Xie Ziyin: "……"
He was also exasperated—this flower never learned. With a cold expression, he stood to apprehend the troublemaker.
But before he could move, a large red flower swaggered in, carrying the brush on its back.
Ninety Million was a seasoned offender. It twisted into a corner, turned its head, and without needing a word from Wen Shuangbai or Xie Ziyin, obediently faced the wall in self-imposed punishment.
It had already spat out its victim, admitted its wrongdoing, and accepted its fate.
But it would absolutely do it again. Heh.
Xie Ziyin smirked. "How about I cook a pot of man-eating flower soup for everyone later?"
"Good idea." Yin Xuan, who had been listless, suddenly perked up, eyeing the flower with genuine appetite. "I noticed some dried mushrooms and spiritual herbs in the kitchen. Adding those would make it delicious."
Oh no.
This innocent man-eating flower only swallowed people—it never actually ate them!
But this silver-haired man? He absolutely would.
Trembling, Ninety Million shrank into itself.
It wasn’t tasty. Please don’t eat it.
Four Hundred Bucks gloated: Eat it, eat it, eat it…
Ninety Million wailed: I’m poisonous! I’m inedible! Don’t eat me!
As the two bickered, Shen Hefeng—wrapped like a mummy from his lightning wounds—asked Li Zhuohua, "Senior Sister, did you tell your mother about the Qingling Lotus Heart?"
Li Zhuohua: "Yeah. Sect Leader Li said she’d have the Medical Pavilion’s master investigate and update us."
Lu Jiayao was curious too. "Senior Sister, when will we hear back? It’s been seven days."
"How should I know?" Li Zhuohua grumbled. "Sect Leader Li’s swamped. I went to challenge her to a fight this morning, and she wasn’t even there."
"Who’s talking about me behind my back?" A gentle voice interrupted.
Everyone looked up to see Sect Leader Li Peng at the door.
"Sect Leader! Pavilion Master!" They moved to bow, but Li Peng waved them off.
"No need for formalities. I came to check on your recovery." Seeing them well enough to play cards, she nodded. "And to share the news you’ve been waiting for."
"About the Qingling Lotus Heart?" Li Zhuohua cut in bluntly. "Was it stolen by your senior brother?"
"You…" Li Peng poked her daughter’s forehead, exasperated. Turning to the others, she smiled gratefully. "Zhuohua is straightforward. Thank you all for looking after her."
Wen Shuangbai studied Qingling Mountain’s leader.
Dressed casually, Li Peng was far more approachable than she’d imagined—like an amiable older sister.
"Not at all," Wen Shuangbai said sincerely. "Senior Sister Li has taken care of us more."
Lu Jiayao nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Senior Sister Li’s great! I love her!"
Yin Xuan remained silent but nodded in agreement.
Shen Hefeng, however, piped up: "Sect Leader, you clearly know your daughter well. But did you know she beats up her juniors too? Ow—!"
Before he could finish, Li Zhuohua kicked him. "So what? Fight me if you’ve got a problem!"
"Sect Leader! Are you going to discipline her or not?!"
Li Peng: "……"
Wen Shuangbai ignored the clown and steered the conversation back. "Sect Leader, what news did you bring?"
Li Peng smiled approvingly and handed her a dossier. "This contains the confessions detailing the Di family’s crimes over the past millennium. Review it for accuracy. If there are no errors, we’ll make it public."
Wen Shuangbai blinked, exchanging a glance with Xie Ziyin before accepting the documents for the group to read.
Since the sect leader had presented this document to them, there was no doubt about its authenticity—and it was far more comprehensive than she had imagined.
The Di family originated a thousand years ago in the weak and small state of Qi. The ruler of Qi secretly practiced ghostly witchcraft, and in his ambition to conquer the realm, he spent years meticulously planning. He set up a blood sacrifice array, covertly sowed discord among the three most powerful states at the time, and incited a great war between them. In the end, he emerged as the victor, unified the land, and changed his surname to Di.
This much, Wen Shuangbai and the others had already deduced before the final battle.
But over time, as talented individuals emerged among the common folk and cultivation sects rose to prominence, the Di family declined with each generation. Eventually, imperial authority was abolished, and the Xuantian Continent came to be ruled by cultivation sects.
On the surface, the Di family yielded, transforming into a benevolent and righteous cultivation clan that protected the land and gathered talents from across the realm.
In secret, however, they began cultivating demonic forces, desperately seeking to enhance their power and restore their dominion over the world.
Ultimately, they turned their attention back to the blood sacrifice array.
Originally, the array had been designed to slaughter armies, but the Di family later discovered its other uses—such as nurturing what they called "Demon Bones."
These Demon Bones were nourished by the killing intent of the blood sacrifice array and the extreme resentment of cultivators. For the Di family, who practiced ghostly witchcraft, implanting these bones into their bodies became a potent means of advancing their cultivation.
The intense resentment and killing intent also caused a strange herb, the Divine Phantom Grass, to grow in the desert where the blood sacrifice array had been cast.
Rather than being alarmed, the Di family saw this as a divine opportunity bestowed upon them by the heavens. They began researching the herb’s properties.
Zhuoguang City became their base for these experiments. Using the Divine Phantom Grass in elixirs, they transformed cultivators into spectral beings under their control, plunging the Xuantian Continent into chaos.
It was only after the emergence of the Sacred Tower and the sacrifice of the Seven Saints that this calamity was brought to an end.
Countless lives were lost, and sects large and small suffered devastating losses.
Seizing the moment, the then-head of the Di family—confident that their dark deeds remained hidden—stepped forward, leveraging his seniority to maneuver himself into the position of sect leader of the Violet Flame Realm.
Because of this, the Di family later divided their main lineage into two branches.
One branch operated in the shadows—the true rulers of the Di family, privy to all its secrets. Their goal was to locate the Demon Bones within the Sacred Tower and restore the Di family’s imperial glory.
This was Di Qi.
The other branch served as the public face—unaware of the family’s dark dealings, raised to uphold righteousness. Even if the Di family’s crimes were exposed, this branch, having committed no wrongs, would be spared by the righteous factions, ensuring the survival of the bloodline and the hope of resurgence.
This was Di Yanran.
Unfortunately, Di Yanran came across records of Qi Yaoling’s deeds in Zhuoguang City.
From the Qi family, and from Qi Yaoling herself, she saw her own reflection.
Later, she secretly entered the forbidden grounds of the Di family—and discovered everything.
Unbeknownst to her, the elders guarding the forbidden grounds noticed her presence and reported it to Di Xiuyuan and Di Qi.
Then, Di Qi killed her, and the entire Di Yanran lineage was quietly erased.
It wasn’t for Yu Xiaoxiao’s sake—he was afraid Di Yanran would expose their secrets.
The ancestors of the Di family had calculated everything, even predicting how the righteous factions would act, intending to preserve a seed of their bloodline. Yet in the end, it was the Di family themselves who destroyed it.
The Di bloodline was completely severed.
After reading all this, Wen Shuangbai thought of Di Yanran and felt a heavy weight in her chest.
There was much she wanted to say, but the words died on her lips. She could only let out a long sigh.
The others felt the same, and the atmosphere in the Endless House grew somber.
Noticing this, Li Peng spoke gently, "The matter of the Qingling Lotus Heart has also been clarified. Our Qingling Lotus only has half a heart—the other half was fake, secretly taken by the former sect leader, Li Yi. He gave that half to his daughter, Yu Xiaoxiao."
"But there’s no need to worry. The heavenly dao’s fortune within the Qingling Lotus remains balanced. Since the other half was destroyed, our lotus will slowly regrow it in time."
After saying this, Li Peng stayed a while longer before taking his leave.
The remaining six exchanged glances.
Finally, Wen Shuangbai pulled out the unfinished card game and asked, "Shall we continue?"
Xie Ziyin: "Up to you."
Shen Hefeng made a show of tossing his terrible hand into the pile. "What’s the point? Sect Leader Li ruined my good cards. Let’s start over—"
Li Zhuohua immediately overruled him with sheer force. "No. We continue."
Lu Jiayao grinned. "Exactly! Come on, let’s keep going. My hand’s amazing!"
Five of the six had voiced their opinions—all except...
Yin Xuan, who had somehow fallen asleep.
Those Di family records had so many words. Very hypnotic. Zzz...
