Dongfang Yuqing looked back at her, "What's wrong?"
"I'm not going anymore." Hua Qian Gu turned and walked back.
Dongfang Yuqing was stunned for a moment and chased after her, "Not going where? Weren't you going to find Bai Zi Hua just now?"
"Going to find Bai Zi Hua is passive," Hua Qian Gu said as she walked, "Being passively beaten is not my style."
"Then what do you want to do?"
Hua Qian Gu stopped and looked at Dongfang Yuqing, her eyes shining, "Ni Mantian can win over Mo Yan because she has status and reputation in the Immortal Realm. If her reputation is gone, will Mo Yan still dare to stand with her?"
Dongfang Yuqing raised an eyebrow, "You want to ruin her reputation?"
"Not ruin it," Hua Qian Gu said, "It's to reveal the truth. The matter of her stealing forbidden techniques in her previous life has not been exposed in this life. I still remember where that evidence is."
Dongfang Yuqing's eyes lit up.
"Yi Xiu Pavilion can help you spread the news," he said, "but the evidence must be real, not forged. Mo Yan, although annoying, is not stupid. He won't be fooled by false evidence."
"It's real," Hua Qian Gu said, "In her previous life, Ni Mantian was caught stealing forbidden techniques by the Penglai Sect Leader and was punished to face the wall for three years. This matter was suppressed, and only a few people within Penglai knew about it. But the punishment record is still in Penglai's Library Pavilion."
"How do you know?"
"Because I heard Ni Mantian say it herself in my previous life—she said it while boasting about how she 'turned shame into courage'." Hua Qian Gu gave a cold laugh, "She thought it was her medal of honor, but she didn't know it was her handle."
Dongfang Yuqing looked at her, the corners of his mouth slowly curving up.
"Hua Qian Gu, you're becoming more and more interesting."
The two did not go to Chang Liu but instead diverted to a small town near Penglai.
Yi Xiu Pavilion had a branch in the town. Dongfang Yuqing mobilized the branch's personnel and spent half a day "borrowing" a dossier from the Penglai Library Pavilion.
The dossier clearly stated: Ni Mantian, daughter of the Penglai Sect Leader, privately practiced the forbidden technique 《Heavenly Demon Art》, violating the Immortal Sect's precepts, and was punished with three years of confinement, deduction of three years' salary, and disqualification from participating in the Immortal Sect Competition.
The signature was the seal of the Penglai Sect Leader, dated five years ago.
"Five years ago," Dongfang Yuqing flipped through the dossier, "How old was Ni Mantian then?"
"Fifteen," Hua Qian Gu said, "An age when she was competitive. She wanted to make a name for herself in the Immortal Sect Competition, so she stole forbidden techniques. As a result, she was discovered, banned from the competition for three years, and lost all face."
"If this dossier gets out, Ni Mantian's reputation will be ruined," Dongfang Yuqing closed the dossier, "Stealing forbidden techniques is a major taboo in the Immortal Realm. At best, one is expelled from the sect; at worst, their cultivation is abolished."
"She won't be expelled from the sect," Hua Qian Gu said, "She is the only daughter of the Penglai Sect Leader, and the Sect Leader will protect her. But he can protect her status, not her reputation."
"Is that what you want?"
"Yes," Hua Qian Gu nodded, "I don't want her dead, I just want her reputation to be ruined. Mo Yan is a man who values his reputation; he won't stand with a woman who stole forbidden techniques. Without Mo Yan's support, Ni Mantian won't be able to cause any major trouble."
Dongfang Yuqing looked at her, a hint of admiration in his eyes.
"This move is quite ruthless."
"It's not ruthless," Hua Qian Gu said, "It's using her own methods against her. She wanted to ruin my reputation, so I'll ruin hers first."
The next day, the Immortal Realm was in an uproar.
Once the Yi Xiu Pavilion's intelligence network was activated, its efficiency was astonishing. Overnight, news of Ni Mantian stealing forbidden techniques spread to the five major Immortal Sects, three great families, and dozens of smaller sects.
There were many versions of the news, but the core content was the same—Ni Mantian, daughter of the Penglai Sect Leader, stole forbidden techniques 《Heavenly Demon Art》 at the age of fifteen, was punished with three years of confinement and three years of competition ban.
The evidence was conclusive, and copies of the dossier were circulated among the major Immortal Sects.
Ni Mantian was drinking tea when she received the news in Penglai. Upon hearing the maidservant's report, the teacup in her hand fell to the ground.
"Who did this?!" she screamed.
"Yi, Yi Xiu Pavilion..." the maidservant stammered, "The news came from Yi Xiu Pavilion. They have the dossier, the original dossier from the Penglai Library Pavilion, with the Sect Leader's seal..."
Ni Mantian's face turned pale.
She thought that dossier had been destroyed long ago. Her father had promised her that there would be no record of this matter.
"Hua Qian Gu." She gritted her teeth and uttered the name, "It must be Hua Qian Gu!"
Besides Hua Qian Gu, no one knew about this. In her previous life, she had indeed mentioned it to Hua Qian Gu—it was at Chang Liu, and she thought Hua Qian Gu, a naive girl from the countryside, wouldn't remember such a trivial matter.
She was wrong.
Hua Qian Gu remembered, and she remembered very clearly.
Chang Liu Mountain, Mo Yan's study room.
Mo Yan had three intelligence reports in front of him, all with the same content—about Ni Mantian stealing forbidden techniques.
His face was darker than the bottom of a pot.
Last time, he had believed Ni Mantian's words and sent people to investigate Hua Qian Gu, only to find that Hua Qian Gu had a pure background, and it was Ni Mantian's act of stealing forbidden techniques that was exposed.
Wasn't this slapping his own face?
"World Honored One, Miss Ni requests an audience," a disciple outside the door announced.
"I won't see her," Mo Yan said coldly.
"She says it's important—"
"I said I won't see her," Mo Yan's voice carried anger, "Tell her to get lost."
The disciple dared not say more and retreated.
Mo Yan picked up the dossier, looked at it again and again, and finally crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the brazier.
But the dossier could be burned, not the reputation. The name Ni Mantian had become infamous in the Immortal Realm.
If he continued to stand with her, his own reputation would be implicated.
"Someone," Mo Yan said in a deep voice.
"Here."
"Issue an order: The cooperation between Chang Liu and Penglai will be temporarily suspended."
"Yes."
Mo Yan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Hua Qian Gu.
He had underestimated her.
Penglai.
Ni Mantian was shut out, trembling with rage.
She returned to her boudoir and swept everything on the table to the floor, vases, teacups, and rouge boxes shattering everywhere.
"Hua Qian Gu! Hua Qian Gu!" she screamed, her eye sockets red.
She had returned from rebirth earlier than Hua Qian Gu, her cultivation was higher, and her resources were more abundant. She thought she had won this time.
But she forgot—Hua Qian Gu knew the future better than she did, and knew everyone's weaknesses better.
"Miss, please calm down..." the maidservant cautiously advised.
"Get out! All of you, get out!"
The maidservants scrambled and fled.
Ni Mantian stood alone in the messy room, panting heavily.
Slowly, she calmed down.
"So what if my reputation is ruined?" she muttered to herself, "As long as my strength remains, there's a chance to turn things around. Hua Qian Gu, don't get cocky. This is just the beginning."
She walked to the dressing table, looked at her distorted face in the mirror, and slowly smiled.
"You think you've got me cornered by ruining my reputation in the Immortal Realm? Hua Qian Gu, you're too naive."
She opened a secret compartment in the dressing table and took out a black wooden box.
Opening the wooden box, she saw a black elixir lying inside, emitting a strong demonic energy.
"Since the Immortal Realm cannot accommodate me, then I will go to the Demon Realm." Ni Mantian picked up the elixir and swallowed it.
Black demonic energy surged from her body, and her eyes turned dark red.
"Hua Qian Gu, the next time we meet, I will make you beg for mercy."
Demon Emperor Palace.
Hua Qian Gu and Dongfang Yuqing returned to the stone chamber.
Dongfang Yuqing leaned against the doorframe, watching her place Tang Bao's egg on the stone bed.
"Ni Mantian should be going mad in Penglai now," he said, "Mo Yan has publicly distanced himself from her. Your objective has been achieved."
"It's only temporary," Hua Qian Gu said, "Ni Mantian will not let this go. Without support from the Immortal Realm, she will find another backer."
"Such as?"
"The Demon Realm," Hua Qian Gu said, "In her previous life, she colluded with the Demon Realm. In this life, with no other options, she will definitely defect to the Demon Realm."
Dongfang Yuqing frowned, "Then we need to prepare in advance."
"I'm already thinking about it," Hua Qian Gu sat down and picked up Tang Bao's egg, "But the most important thing right now is not Ni Mantian."
"What is it?"
Hua Qian Gu looked down at the dense cracks on the eggshell and said softly, "Tang Bao is about to hatch."
The green light on the eggshell flashed brightly.
The cracks split open.
【End of Chapter·Comment Section: What do you think Tang Bao will look like?】
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