Myriad Dao Sect.
Qu Yougu returned to the sect in grand fashion, bringing the demonic cultivator trapped inside the soul-nourishing wood along with a large group of people.
Rongyun had originally not wanted to come, but his Xiaoyao Dao Sect had a fairly good relationship with Myriad Dao Sect. Since he had run into them, he could hardly leave as Shu Xin had, so he had no choice but to follow them to Qu Yougu’s Formless lineage.
Qu Yougu’s master, White Crane Dao Lord, had already been waiting in his cave abode. Upon hearing that Qu Yougu had returned successfully, he could not restrain himself from coming out to greet him.
“As expected of my good disciple. Your uncles and senior brothers have already told me what happened.” As the master of the Formless lineage, White Crane Dao Lord had taken more than a hundred disciples. Yet those disciples had either died while attempting to break through to a higher cultivation level or perished in the internal struggles between the other mountain and spiritual lineages. Only Qu Yougu had enjoyed a smooth journey from beginning to end. He was exceptionally talented and obedient—in other words, he was White Crane Dao Lord’s ideal disciple.
“You must be Rongyun, yes? Your master and I once fought side by side.” After praising Qu Yougu, White Crane Dao Lord turned toward Rongyun. With a sweep of his horsetail whisk, he presented him with a welcoming gift.
Rongyun hurriedly clasped his hands and bowed. “Greetings, Dao Lord. When I was still in the sect, my master often spoke of you. It is only unfortunate that I have failed as a disciple and am no longer a disciple of the sect.”
“Think nothing of it. I have heard about your situation as well.” White Crane Dao Lord smiled faintly. “You merely killed a few rebellious disciples. Those disciples deserved death. However, because you acted without finding evidence first, you gave their clans an excuse to slander you. Once you reach the Immaculate realm, none of these problems will matter anymore. But remember this ordeal well. In the future, even if you are furious, you must never act rashly.”
True Person Rongyun merely cupped his hands and assented.
“And what of the spirit-possessing demonic cultivator? Bring him out and let me have a look.” White Crane Dao Lord turned to ask, “You have already completed your bounty mission, and the sect’s merit contribution has been issued. The only thing left is to confirm whether the demonic cultivator is alive or dead.”
“Yes.” Qu Yougu took out the soul-nourishing wood and presented it to White Crane Dao Lord with both hands. “This time, I must thank you for granting me the soul-nourishing wood, Master. Otherwise, with this demonic cultivator reduced to nothing but his primordial spirit, bringing him back would have been difficult.”
“Mm.” White Crane Dao Lord released the primordial spirit of Wei Yiming, which had been trapped inside the soul-nourishing wood.
“Wretch, do you know your crimes?” White Crane Dao Lord snorted coldly. His voice immediately caused another portion of the primordial spirit to dissipate. “You have repeatedly attacked the subsidiary sects under Myriad Dao Sect. Were you acting on someone’s orders?”
The demonic cultivator’s primordial spirit did not answer.
“Master, allow me to explain. A restriction was placed inside this demonic cultivator’s primordial spirit. He is incapable of revealing any of the secrets concerning the spirit-possessing demonic cultivators. If you forcefully search his soul, the spirit-possessing demonic cultivators will immediately follow the restriction here and find us,” Qu Yougu reminded him.
“I am here in the Formless lineage. Could those demonic cultivators possibly come all the way to the Dao sect?” White Crane Dao Lord’s Formless lineage, including himself, possessed eight cultivators in the Immaculate realm. Among Myriad Dao Sect’s hundreds of spiritual lineages and thousands of mountain lineages, it could firmly rank among the top ten. Why would he fear a few demonic cultivators?
At once, White Crane Dao Lord forcefully began searching the soul, intending to uncover the secrets hidden within Wei Yiming’s primordial spirit.
However, just as White Crane Dao Lord’s primordial spirit was about to enter, an expression of extreme pain appeared on Wei Yiming’s face. The spiritual energy around them also began to fluctuate.
“Not good.” White Crane Dao Lord froze for an instant.
In the next moment, Wei Yiming’s primordial spirit exploded. A streak of sword qi shredded his entire primordial spirit, leaving not even a trace behind.
Soon, that streak of sword qi dissipated as well.
White Crane Dao Lord hesitated for a moment before a smile spread across his face. He patted Qu Yougu firmly on the shoulder. “Good, good. You’ve grown tremendously during this journey—and you even know to worry about your master now. Hahaha! It’s no matter that the demonic cultivator died. You and Rongyun should look around the sect and make yourselves at home.”
It was obvious that White Crane Dao Lord was extremely pleased. Knowing that the younger generation would not be able to relax with him around, he left happily.
Qu Yougu was completely baffled. “What did Master mean by that?”
“Hm? Wasn’t that sword qi something you placed on the demonic cultivator’s primordial spirit?” Rongyun remarked casually from the side. “You must have planted it inside his primordial spirit so that, if he tried to self-detonate and harm anyone, it would destroy his primordial spirit first. That technique is quite difficult to learn. I practiced it for a long time back then and still couldn’t master it. You went out of your way to learn it and then used it on this demonic cultivator, so you must have been worried that he would hurt your master. With White Crane Dao Lord’s strength, even if he really had to withstand a primordial-spirit self-detonation, it wouldn’t have been a problem.”
Ordinary demonic cultivators would not self-detonate their primordial spirits, since doing so would prevent them from reincarnating.
However, if someone attempted to forcefully search their souls, quite a few demonic cultivators would choose self-detonation to protect their secrets.
White Crane Dao Lord was an Immaculate cultivator. If he were attacked by the self-detonation of a demonic cultivator’s primordial spirit that had already been tortured to the brink of death, at worst, he would suffer little more than a scratch.
But when it was a disciple’s filial devotion, that was another matter entirely.
Qu Yougu fell silent. After a while, he said, “I’ve never known that technique.”
Rongyun was stunned as well. “That streak of sword qi was incredibly powerful. I couldn’t have produced it.”
It was Shu Xin.
Only she had entered the soul-nourishing wood and come into contact with the demonic cultivator.
But at that time, hadn’t she been seriously injured?
To be able to use such a precise and profound technique meant that she had not actually been injured.
Qu Yougu could not make sense of it no matter how hard he tried.
Longevity Dao Sect.
The next time they heard news of Shu Xin, it came unexpectedly from Myriad Dao Sect.
It was said that when the Daoist heir of Myriad Dao Sect had gone out to capture demonic cultivators, he had received Shu Xin’s assistance. The Daoist heir had praised Shu Xin to the heavens, and the news had consequently made its way back to Longevity Dao Sect.
Those who had previously questioned the reputation Shu Xin had inexplicably acquired quieted down considerably.
Naturally, the Lin family members who heard the news looked displeased.
Before long, someone hurried over to inform Situ Jian that the ancestor wished to see him.
Situ Jian interrupted his closed-door cultivation and immediately followed the messenger.
Perhaps hoping to curry favor with Situ Jian—and to demonstrate their capabilities before this future authority of the Lin family—the Lin family member beside him recounted the entire matter concerning Shu Xin and the Daoist heir in meticulous detail.
Some of it had been gathered through his own efforts. After all, Myriad Dao Sect had brought back so many people, and there were always some whose loose tongues allowed news to leak out. Other parts, however, had been fabricated by him.
“Elder Situ, Shu Xin really does seem to have some ability. I heard that she fought a mid-stage Grotto-Heaven opponent to a standstill that day. After she was injured, she was personally carried back by the Daoist heir of Myriad Dao Sect.” The Lin family member glanced at Situ Jian. Seeing no expression on his face, he assumed Situ Jian was not very interested in what he was saying, so he added some of his own imagination. “It’s obvious that Shu Xin values power and influence more. She probably wants to use this opportunity to seduce Myriad Dao Sect’s Daoist heir. Elder Situ, being able to cut ties with a woman like that early on is a blessing in disguise. As long as you properly honor the ancestor, the ancestor won’t take her matter out on you.”
Almost everyone in the Lin family believed that Situ Jian absolutely despised Shu Xin.
After all, Shu Xin was hated by the upper echelons of the Everlasting Dao Sect, and Situ Jian had naturally been affected by that association.
Moreover, after the Lin family ancestor had gone to the Seeking God Sect and suffered humiliation, he had returned furious and entered seclusion. Supposedly, Shu Xin had played a part in that as well.
Adding up all these things, Situ Jian was sometimes in the ancestor’s good graces and sometimes not. Naturally, everyone assumed that Situ Jian hated Shu Xin.
“You said just now that the Daoist heir sacrificed two Grotto-Heaven True Persons from affiliated sects in order to capture that demonic cultivator?” Situ Jian asked.
“Yes.” The Lin family member sounded quite envious. “I heard that afterward, the Daoist heir gave the affiliated sect a great deal of resources. The sect master was apparently overjoyed.”
The corners of Situ Jian’s lips curved upward slightly, but he quickly returned to his usual impassive expression.
With that alone, there was no possibility whatsoever between Shu Xin and Qu Yougu.
“Elder, I was saying—” The Lin family member tried to continue, only to discover that he had suddenly lost his voice. It felt as though something had blocked his throat.
“Be quieter from now on.” Situ Jian looked at him calmly. “It was only a minor spell. You’ll recover in three years.”
With that, Situ Jian went alone to the Lin family ancestor’s cave abode.
“Looks like your cultivation technique has indeed improved considerably.” The Lin family ancestor did not appear directly, but even his voice carried a hint of being strong on the outside while weak within.
Situ Jian knew that the other man was already beginning to lose control as his cultivation technique started to rebound against him.
The once-formidable Lin family ancestor had ultimately grown old.
“My master’s guidance has been excellent,” Situ Jian said respectfully.
“I happen to have gained some insights.” The Lin family ancestor laughed. “Stay here and cultivate. I’ll personally give you some guidance.”
“This…”
“What? The blessed land of my cave abode is rich in spiritual energy. Is it inferior to that shabby cave of yours?” The Lin family ancestor pressed him relentlessly.
Situ Jian cupped his hands slightly. He seemed unwilling to continue resisting and could only agree.
“Don’t worry. You are my only disciple. From now on, your status in the Lin family will be equal to mine.” The Lin family ancestor’s laughter echoed out. “The Lin family’s cultivation arts are profound and marvelous beyond measure. They will never disappoint you.”
Situ Jian stood upright and listened to his master’s lecture, but his thoughts had already drifted far away.
Meanwhile, on another side of the story…
Shu Xin had now completed her transformation from a forceful senior sister into a delicate little white flower. From her makeup and clothing to her expression and even her tone of voice, she seemed to have become an entirely different person.
If they had not watched their senior sister adjust her makeup step by step, several of her junior brothers and sisters would have suspected that she had been possessed.
Their senior sister was truly terrifying.
Her facial features had barely changed, so how had she managed to alter her entire aura through nothing more than makeup and styling, making herself look almost like two completely different people?
Yuan Dawei and the others had found a large group of unaffiliated cultivators with no particular background. They had even specially commissioned a luxurious coffin and placed Fan Jia’an’s body inside. At the same time, Cao Ru carved formations onto the coffin to ensure that the corpse would not decay. Along the way, they also found some cultivators short on money and had them wear mourning clothes and accompany the funeral procession.
And so, a grand funeral procession of several hundred people was formed.
As for the spirit stones, they had paid the cultivators only a few hundred as a deposit. The rest would have to be paid by the Fan family once they arrived.
At Shu Xin’s instruction, Qi Feiyang had also reached an agreement with the leaders of those unaffiliated cultivators.
Once they reached the Fan family, the cultivators would inflate the quoted price threefold, and the extra money would be split fifty-fifty.
The other party was quite understanding and agreed immediately.
After all, the work was easy and the spirit stones plentiful. If there was another job like this in the future, they were to call him in advance. He had nothing else in abundance, but he certainly knew plenty of unaffiliated cultivators.
“Senior Sister, we’re almost at the Fan family. Why have we suddenly stopped?” Meng Wenrui was dressed in mourning clothes, making him look even younger.
Hadn’t they agreed to come and see Fan Jia’an off at his funeral? Why had they stopped right before reaching the Fan family’s gates?
The five fellow disciples had already grown accustomed to asking their senior sister directly whenever they encountered something they did not understand.
There was no point trying to guess.
“You fool. Naturally, we’re waiting for the Fan family patriarch to come and receive us personally.” Shu Xin cast him a sidelong glance and spoke in a soft, gentle voice. “The Myriad Dao Sect has yet to reach a conclusion regarding the Fan family’s involvement in the Hu family’s affairs. However, the Fan family itself has not been implicated too deeply. At most, the Myriad Dao Sect will probably scold them a few times. The Fan family is not subordinate to the Myriad Dao Sect, so it does not fall under their authority. Right now, how could one dead son possibly be more important than the family’s future? The longer we wait here, the more time the Fan clan chief will have to come to his senses after the matter blows over. Naturally, he’ll treat us better then.”
Meng Wenrui shuddered at the sight of this gentle-as-water senior sister. “S-Senior Sister, would you please scold me?”
“Our junior brother is talking nonsense. When have I ever scolded anyone?” Shu Xin lowered her head and smiled. “Once we reach the Fan family, you must speak this way too. I’m just letting you get used to it in advance.”
Meng Wenrui fled with unsteady steps.
A senior sister this gentle was even more frightening. Boohoo…
Only after the room had fallen silent did Shu Xin stretch out both legs and collapse onto the bed.
“Damn it, the Fan family patriarch is as suspicious as Cao Cao himself. If I don’t make the Fan family bleed a little, I’ll take his surname!” Shu Xin fanned herself with one hand, furious.
[Can’t be helped. A Grotto-Heaven cultivator suddenly showed up to wear mourning clothes for his son. Of course he’d be suspicious,] the sword spirit said with a cackle. [But judging from his appearance, he doesn’t seem to be the external incarnation of that spirit-parasitizing demonic cultivator. The Fan family has so many people. Finding that external incarnation is going to be incredibly difficult.]
The disgusting thing about these spirit-parasitizing demonic cultivators was that they did not possess people outright. They merely attached themselves to them.
Thus, before the invasion of their consciousness was fully complete, the cultivator being possessed would have no idea that there was something else inside them.
That made capturing them extremely difficult.
“The sword qi I left behind has completely ground that demonic cultivator’s primordial spirit to dust. Even if it was an external incarnation, it would still have suffered severe damage and will be forced to lie low for the time being.” Shu Xin smiled. “But lying low is only a temporary measure. If it can’t complete the possession, the incarnation’s consciousness will eventually die out.”
[ Aren’t you worried that the sword qi you left behind will be discovered by people from the Myriad Dao Sect? ]
“They have no evidence. I’ll simply deny it.” Shu Xin yawned. “Besides, letting that Daoist heir from the Myriad Dao Sect know that I’m not someone to be trifled with may save me some trouble in the future.”
[Fine. I can’t argue with you,] the sword spirit said, sounding somewhat excited. [The Fan family is already in complete chaos. They’re all discussing you. Hahaha!]
[Come on, come on. I’ll give you a live broadcast.]
As the spirit of an immortal sword, the sword spirit’s divine sense could spread millions of miles in every direction, making it the ultimate gossip reporter.
If this had been the modern era, who knew how many “Monday exclusives” it could have produced?
At that moment, just as the sword spirit had said, the Fan family was arguing incessantly.
“After all, Jia’an died for the sake of our Fan family. Even the Myriad Dao Sect believes he never defected to the Demon Sect. How can we leave his body lying outside forever?” one of the Fan family elders slammed the table and rose to his feet. “It is Jia’an today, but what if it is one of your descendants tomorrow?”
“Third Brother, calm down,” another member of the Fan family said, remaining composed. “The clan chief hasn’t said a word. Jia’an was his own son—do you really think he isn’t grieving? It’s just that our Fan family is already being held accountable by the Myriad Dao Sect over the Hu family’s affairs. How can we afford to make even one wrong move at such a critical moment?”
“That still doesn’t mean we can leave our nephew’s corpse lying outside! How disgraceful would that be? Do we no longer care about the reputation of the Fan family?”
Everyone argued their own position, and no one knew what to do.
“Silence.”
In the end, it was Fan Jia’an’s biological father, the Fan clan chief, who finally spoke.
“The Myriad Dao Sect has sent word that, before long, members of the sect will come to our family to clarify who bears responsibility.” Fan Xiang swept his gaze across the room, a trace of pain flashing through his eyes. “This is a crisis for our Fan family, but it is also an opportunity.”
For the Fan family, forming any connection with the Myriad Dao Sect had always been unimaginably difficult.
But this time, the Fan family could at least be considered one of the victims, and had consequently established a connection with the Myriad Dao Sect.
As long as the Myriad Dao Sect’s envoy walked out through the gates of the Fan family, the family would be able to borrow the sect’s prestige in the future and use it to accomplish certain things.
“As for Second Brother and Thirteenth Brother, their betrayal has already been confirmed. Tomorrow, we will erase their names from the ancestral shrine. From this day forth, should we encounter them, they are to be killed without mercy!” the Fan clan chief declared with finality.
“But they are both cultivators of the Dongtian realm,” someone in the Fan family said in a low voice.
“If this had happened at any other time, I might have shown mercy even if they had killed my son. But now, the Myriad Dao Sect has branded them as accomplices of demonic cultivators. The sect has spared their lives only because they were coerced, but it will still destroy their Dongtian realm cultivation as punishment. Are you suggesting that our Fan family oppose the Myriad Dao Sect and take these two traitors back into the family?” the Fan clan chief asked in return.
Naturally, no one dared.
They were all hoping to establish a connection with the Myriad Dao Sect. They absolutely could not make the sect unhappy over something so minor.
“The Hu family has already fallen,” the Fan clan chief continued. “All of their property has been taken away. In addition, every cultivator of the Hu family above the Core Condensation stage has had their cultivation crippled. Since we don’t know whether any of them had colluded with demonic cultivators and practiced demonic arts, we had no choice but to cripple them all.
“Those female cultivators below the Core Condensation stage with outstanding aptitude have fared somewhat better. They can still become wives or concubines to certain cultivators from the Myriad Dao Sect’s subsidiary sects. As long as they bear enough children, they may still be given the chance to cultivate. But the men have either been sent to mine spirit stones or turned into human medicine for alchemists. Only children no older than ten are qualified to become servants.”
As for the Hu family’s resources, they had all been divided up as well.
The shops owned by the Hu family had also been sold off at a reduced price in exchange for spirit stones, all of which now belonged to the Myriad Dao Sect.
For a clan like the Hu family, such an outcome meant there was no hope of ever rising again.
But that was simply how the cultivation world had always worked.
The victor gained everything, while the loser was left with nothing.
If the Fan family had taken part in this matter, they would have met the same fate.
“From now on, we are to keep the Hu family’s affairs strictly to ourselves,” the Fan clan chief ordered. “No one in the family is permitted to mention them again.”
“Yes.”
“As for my son’s body, since it was personally delivered by a Dongtian realm cultivator, we cannot afford to offend her.” The Fan clan chief made his decision. “Tomorrow, I will go and receive her personally. This is a matter of my own family. None of you need to accompany me.”
The others could only agree.
After all, they had no better solution.
Early the next morning, Fan Xiang went personally to the inn to meet Shu Xin.
Yuan Dawei and the others had blended into the funeral procession without rashly approaching.
Even so, the moment they stood among the mourners, they stood out like cranes among chickens. They were completely out of place among the rogue cultivators.
Their eyes were full of vitality and anger.
Before an old fox like Fan Xiang, such disguises could hardly be called disguises at all.
These must be Shu Xin’s junior brothers and sisters.
Judging by how clumsy their disguises were, it was clear that even if they possessed some cunning, they had very little of it.
Fan Xiang felt somewhat reassured. As long as the other party had something they wanted, everything would be easy to negotiate.
The Fan family had just lost two Dongtian realm cultivators. They had no desire to make an enemy of another one.
However, when Shu Xin actually emerged from the inn and Fan Xiang saw her in person, he was still unable to conceal his shock.
Why was this True Person Shu so different from the rumors?
She moved with delicate, graceful steps, looking frail and refined.
Shu Xin wore a white robe, with nothing more than a plain white jade hairpin in her hair.
“Greetings, Uncle Fan.” The corners of Shu Xin’s eyes seemed slightly red, as though she had only just finished crying.
Fan Xiang froze for a moment. “Greetings, Fellow Daoist Shu.”
“Uncle Fan, there’s no need to be so formal.” Shu Xin dabbed at the corner of her eye, looking utterly pitiful. “Shu Xin has always had terrible luck. When I was at the Everlasting Dao Sect, I devoted myself wholeheartedly to gathering resources for my fiancé’s cultivation. Who could have imagined that the Lin family would get there first and even smear my reputation?
“Only after my master took pity on me and accepted me as her disciple, protecting me while I cultivated, was I able to break through with the help of a treasured artifact from the sect. I never expected my beloved Fan to understand the suffering in my heart, comforting me with such care and treating me with such tenderness. I thought we would become a pair of immortals in love. I never imagined that Heaven would be jealous of such talent…”
As Shu Xin spoke, tears began to well up in her eyes once more.
Fan Xiang was stunned.
His own son had indeed been very good at winning women over, but he had never imagined that the boy could be so capable as to deceive a Dongtian realm cultivator.
If his son were still alive, how impressive—and what a source of pride—that would have been.
“I fell in love with my beloved Fan at first sight, and with each subsequent meeting, my feelings only deepened. We had already pledged ourselves to each other in secret. He once told me that if he ever met with misfortune, he absolutely wanted his body returned to his homeland.” Shu Xin sniffled before continuing. “Although we can no longer become Dao companions, I still had to fulfill his final wish. I specially begged the Daoist heir before I could bring his body back. In this way, I can at least say that I did right by him.”
“Not at all, not at all. Fellow Daoist Shu, your righteousness has moved everyone in the Fan family. We are deeply grateful,” Fan Xiang hurriedly replied.
“Then I won’t impose any longer.” Shu Xin forced a bitter smile. She touched her lower abdomen, then cast a reluctant glance at the coffin. A flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes as she prepared to turn away.
How could such a small movement escape Fan Xiang, who had been watching Shu Xin closely the entire time?
At once, Fan Xiang felt as if divine inspiration had struck him.
Why would a female cultivator of the Dongtian realm personally come to return a corpse?
Because she had no choice.
There might very well be a descendant of the Fan family in her womb.
Any child born to a female cultivator of the Grotto Heaven Realm—boy or girl—was bound to possess exceptional aptitude. Who knew? Perhaps this child would one day become the Fan family’s prodigy.
For a moment, Fan Xiang was no longer saddened by his son’s death.
He was only comforted by how capable his son had been.
If his guess was correct, and Shu Xin was this easy to manipulate, then it was no wonder his son had made a move against her.
A female cultivator this innocent and gullible was not someone one could afford to let slip away after encountering her.
“Fellow Daoist Shu, please wait!” Fan Xiang called out at once.
Shu Xin turned around.
“Fellow Daoist Shu, I am deeply grateful for your devotion and loyalty to my son. I respectfully invite you to stay at the Fan residence for a while, so that my family may properly play host to you.” Fan Xiang cast several meaningful glances at Shu Xin’s lower abdomen, his eyes practically glowing.
【…Why are you rubbing your stomach?】The sword spirit exploded. 【You’re a woman too, you know. For heaven’s sake, have some dignity.】
“I just ate too much. Rubbing my stomach helps with digestion.” Shu Xin smiled. “It’s that old man Fan Xiang who’s letting his imagination run wild. What does that have to do with me? Still, it looks like I can throw my weight around in the Fan family from now on. Hahahaha.”
