Ji Yanzhi gently grasped his wrist, soothing him, "These are all old matters from over a decade ago. It's only natural that Master hasn't heard of them."
Abnormal. Nothing about this was normal! Shen Fu thought to himself, I've read the original novel, and this part wasn't in there either.
Because what he'd been reading was a serialized web novel, and the author's update frequency wasn't high, he'd been chasing after those millions of words for four or five years without it ever finishing. Up until the moment he transmigrated, the story had only reached the point where the Immortal Alliance, in order to end that world-destroying snow calamity, planned to gather all its strength to restart the Cultivation Platform, helping Ji Yanzhi ascend to godhood so that divine power could be used to combat the natural disaster.
And in all the previous plot, the introductions to the Immortal Alliance's leader, Yin Zhenyue, mostly described him as possessing formidable combat strength, an extremely high cultivation base, and being a peerless genius—in short, he was so powerful that Ji Yanzhi could coast through the entire Cultivation World in the early stages by relying on his status as Yin Zhenyue's personally accepted disciple. As for how he became the Alliance Leader, and what he did before that, it was basically never mentioned.
Shen Fu never expected Yin Zhenyue to have any connection to Xie Jiuzhang—let alone a connection of this nature.
So in his previous life, when the Immortal Alliance needed someone to offer as a sacrifice, that was why Yin Zhenyue had set his sights on Xuanji Mountain?
Shen Fu looked at Xie Jiuzhang, whose brows were tightly furrowed in the seat of honor, and his thoughts were instantly yanked back to that night when the entire Xuanji Mountain sect was wiped out.
He'd been out drinking and carousing through the streets, not returning to the mountain until very late. He'd thought he would be stopped at the mountain gate by Jiang Lin again, who would lecture him endlessly about not taking care of his body and always going out to drink.
But when he reached the mountain gate, not only was Jiang Lin nowhere to be seen, even the Mountain Protection Array was gone.
Earlier, in order to prevent Xuanji Mountain from being disturbed by evil spirits, Xie Jiuzhang had dug up some ancient texts from who knows where and worked with Shen Fu to develop a Mountain Protection Array, properly covering Xuanji Mountain with it.
When they'd first set it up, Shen Fu complained every day about how crude Xie Jiuzhang's spellwork was—other people's Mountain Protection Arrays were completely invisible to outsiders, but Xie Jiuzhang's looked like he was afraid no one would notice it.
A massive dome of light covered Xuanji Mountain, ugly as sin, but after looking at it for long enough, they actually got used to it.
Later, after several rounds of improvements, although the array's appearance still left much to be desired, its sturdiness was already considered top-notch at the time. He'd even joked with Xie Jiuzhang, saying that this Golden Bell Shield probably couldn't be broken through unless the Alliance Leader himself came in person.
Xie Jiuzhang had laughed and teased back, "It's not that sturdy. No need for the Alliance Leader himself—just his sword, Chi Xiao, would be enough to pierce it easily."
Who would have thought those words would become a prophecy? That night, when Shen Fu climbed up Xuanji Mountain, he saw that legendary ancient divine weapon, Chi Xiao, embedded firmly in Xie Jiuzhang's chest.
It was also at that moment that Shen Fu learned why the Mountain Protection Array had been so sturdy—because Xie Jiuzhang had connected it to his own Golden Core. As long as the Golden Core existed, the Mountain Protection Array was unshakable.
But all of that proved so fragile in the face of Chi Xiao.
Once the Mountain Protection Array was broken, the people of Dongxu Sect charged up. By then, the sect master of Dongxu Sect had already changed hands several times, but the grudge between the two sects had never dissipated—instead, it had only deepened with the passing years.
Years of conflict erupted in a single moment, and with Chi Xiao's presence signifying the Immortal Alliance's tacit approval, the people of Dongxu Sect launched a merciless massacre.
To protect Shen Fu, Xie Jiuzhang self-detonated his Golden Core. As for the rest of the people on Xuanji Mountain—those with spiritual roots had their spiritual roots ripped out. Those who had formed cores had their cores destroyed and died with them. Even those who had no cultivation whatsoever, who had merely been hired to sweep and cook on Xuanji Mountain, were not spared.
One by one, people who had once been full of life lay peacefully before him as a pile of corpses. Shen Fu, the sole survivor, sat amidst the dead, looking less alive than the bodies around him.
Shen Fu didn't know how he'd gotten through it. He only remembered that everything around him was blood and shredded flesh, his eyes cried until they were bloodshot and he couldn't see anything clearly. He lay on the ground, gathering up the dismembered limbs of those who had once been inseparable from him, piece by piece, but he couldn't hold them.
Because his hands had already been frostbitten beyond use—his joints wouldn't move, stiff as stone.
In the frozen wilderness, his tears didn't even have time to fall before they crystallized into ice on his cheeks.
If not for Xiao Jinjin appearing in time, Shen Fu might have died that very day.
In his previous life, Shen Fu had never understood why—Yin Zhenyue and Xuanji Mountain had never had any dealings with each other, so why had the Immortal Alliance chosen Xuanji Mountain as the sacrifice, and why had they gone so far as to slaughter the entire sect?
Because Yin Zhenyue's public image had always been that of an upright, righteous, and fair-minded man, someone who was extremely opposed to collective punishment and the annihilation of entire families.
In his hundred-plus years in the Cultivation World, Shen Fu had heard of the Alliance Leader's deeds, and they matched the original novel almost exactly. Yet it was precisely this kind of man who had personally orchestrated the Xuanji Mountain tragedy.
In his previous life, right up until the moment he was killed on the Cultivation Platform, Shen Fu had still wanted to ask Yin Zhenyue one question: Why, exactly?
So… this was the reason?
But if the two of them had a grudge going back that far, why wait several hundred years to settle the score?
And also—what exactly was Fengyuan trying to accomplish by bringing this up now?
"Master, Master~" Ji Yanzhi gently shook Shen Fu's wrist, his tone sticky and clingy. "Your hand is so cold, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Shen Fu tried to pull his hand back, only to find that Ji Yanzhi's fingers had somehow slipped between his, interlocking with his own in a firm clasp.
"Master wasn't paying attention to me just now, so I thought the Blood Trace on your arm might be acting up again. I transferred some of it over to myself."
After Ji Yanzhi finished speaking, Shen Fu belatedly noticed the faint stinging pain in his arm and the shallow golden light where their palms connected.
"Thank you." As Shen Fu said this, he realized their posture was a bit too intimate, so he slowly withdrew his hand.
Ji Yanzhi's palm suddenly felt empty, and his gaze darkened along with it.
Up ahead, Yin Congyue was being held back by Jiang Lin, which was the only thing preventing him from charging at Fengyuan. But Fengyuan remained relentless.
He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his venomous gaze sweeping lightly over Shen Fu before he spoke: "The Spirit-Binding Rope does indeed point to Shen Fu, and there's no denying that there's no spiritual root in his body. If any of you don't believe me, feel free to verify it yourselves."
"Furthermore, from what I know, on the night the Dongxu Sect incident occurred, Sect Leader Xie also happened to visit Li Family Village, didn't he?"
Hearing this, Shen Fu's brows immediately furrowed. Xie Jiuzhang had indeed gone to Li Family Village that day, and he had even brought Ji Yanzhi back with him.
"Fengyuan, we all know how deep your feelings run for Cheng Ping, but you can't just spout baseless accusations. You say Sect Leader Xie was there too—do you have any evidence?" Someone piped up, and the assembled elders nodded in agreement one after another.
"Of course I do. But I wonder if the Young Lord would be willing to lend me the Spirit-Binding Rope?" Fengyuan raised his hand, palm open toward Yin Congyue.
Seeing this, Yin Congyue instinctively clutched his pocket tighter. "This is crucial evidence—how could I hand it over to you?"
He was still young after all, unable to hide his feelings on his face. The moment he heard Fengyuan mention that Xie Jiuzhang had also visited Li Family Village, he looked especially guilty.
Before this, he had managed to pry some suspicious details out of Jiang Lin—like how Xie Jiuzhang, who was supposedly in seclusion on the day of the incident, had not only suddenly emerged from seclusion but had also brought Ji Yanzhi back with him upon his return.
With just a little thought, anyone would guess where Xie Jiuzhang had gone that night.
Although Yin Congyue didn't believe in his heart that Xie Jiuzhang would do such a thing, rumors were a fearsome thing. With so many elders gathered here, even as the Young Lord of the Immortal Alliance, he might not be able to silence all those wagging tongues.
After thinking it over, it was better not to hand the thing over.
Jiang Lin also sensed something was wrong and deliberately stepped forward, shielding the young man behind him.
"Is the Young Lord distrusting me, or simply afraid to hand it over?" Fengyuan had no intention of letting them off the hook. He actually began walking toward the two youths, pressing closer step by step.
"Or perhaps you also know that as long as I use the Soul Refining Art to summon Cao Zhenyun's soul, I can borrow his eyes to see exactly who set foot in Li Family Village in the hours after his death."
In the hours after Cao Zhenyun's death, there were no living souls left in Li Family Village. As long as any living person had set foot on that land, Fengyuan could find out—even without borrowing his eyes, just using his soul alone.
Just as he was about to corner the two young men, Shen Fu finally couldn't hold back and stepped forward, placing himself directly in Fengyuan's path.
His figure in green was slender, but it was enough to block Fengyuan's ill-intentioned gaze. "Senior, why must you torment these children here? Since the Spirit-Binding Rope has pointed to me regarding the Li Family Village matter, I have nothing to evade. If you all want an answer, then take me back to the Immortal Alliance. Right and wrong will be judged by the Alliance's enforcement officers. There's no need to sling mud here."
Shen Fu straightened his back, his gaze blazing as it collided with Fengyuan's in midair. "A debt must be repaid, a life must be answered for. I, Shen, am a man who takes responsibility for his own actions."
His tone was resolute, each word landing with weight. Whatever Fengyuan's true purpose was, he would never allow anyone to sling mud at Xie Jiuzhang.
"Brother." Xie Jiuzhang, who had been watching as a spectator for quite some time, finally spoke up: "Let Congyue give him the Spirit-Binding Rope. I didn't kill anyone, so I'd like to see exactly how you, Fengyuan, plan to pin this black hat on me."
Seeing that Xie Jiuzhang had also lost his composure, Fengyuan finally curled the corner of his mouth, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes.
"Everyone seems to have misunderstood me," Fengyuan pivoted. "I'm not trying to sling mud at anyone, nor am I trying to arrest someone without cause. I merely wish to get to the bottom of the truth."
The shift in demeanor was so sudden that Shen Fu almost thought the aggressive old man from moments ago wasn't the same person standing before him now.
Xie Jiuzhang was also baffled by him, so he could only offer with concern: "Senior Fengyuan, have you been having some unspeakable trouble with your cultivation lately? Speaking in such a rambling, incoherent manner isn't a good look. I happen to know a few folk remedies for curing the simple-minded and addle-brained—would you like me to try them on you?"
Hearing this, Shen Fu nearly lost his composure, his serious expression almost cracking.
Unexpectedly, Fengyuan did not get angry at these words. Instead, he let out a scoff. "What I mean is, since both sides have their own accounts, the elders surely wouldn't take one side's word over the other when it comes to truth and falsehood."
"Besides, Li Family Village is right nearby, and those wronged spirits are still locked in place by the formation at this very moment. As for who the real culprit is, just toss them in and we'll find out."
As Fengyuan spoke, he slowly raised his hand, his fingertips aimed at Shen Fu. "Is it you," he then turned to Xie Jiuzhang, "or you," and finally whipped around abruptly, his gaze landing on Ji Yanzhi. "Or… you."
Shen Fu followed the direction Fengyuan pointed and looked back, meeting Ji Yanzhi's frost-laden eyes directly. It seemed to trigger a memory, and his mind went blank with a sudden buzz.