The thin slip of paper was held in Wu Youqi’s palm, repeatedly kneaded, until in a short moment, it was crumpled into a pitiful, wretched ball.
Seeing his expression turn gloomy, Xizhu called out softly, “Your Venerable?”
Wu Youqi held the paper ball without speaking. After a long while, he closed his eyes and let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “It is nothing.”
Seeing his brows pressed down so deeply, Xizhu looked back at Gu Qingyi and couldn’t help but advise, “Venerable, the Young Master… Young Master Gu is simple-minded. If he said anything improper, please do not take it to heart.”
Wu Youqi hissed, his brow furrowing even more. “Why? In your eyes, is this Venerable such an unreasonable person?”
He would have to be insane to take a fool’s words seriously.
His expression was unsightly not because of this piece of paper with handwriting inferior to a dog’s scratchings, nor because of that laughable sentence.
It was because of the mortar he had left behind, along with the Spirit Pill Grass inside.
How could a fool recognize medicinal herbs?
If the Gu family hadn’t falsified his background, how could someone from a water town—born in Shuiyan Town with no medical background in his family—accurately distinguish this Spirit Pill Grass from a myriad of other weeds?
Spirit Pill Grass was common in the southwest mountainous regions, found neither in Jiangnan nor the north. It grew naturally on sheer cliffs and precipices; it was only because the local people loved to use it to flavor their cooking that it was planted on a large scale. Later, cultivators discovered its analgesic properties, and it was introduced to the Medicine King Valley for cultivation, where generation after generation of it was refined into a higher-grade immortal herb.
The Demon Realm had few medicinal herbs; for this thing to grow there, it was likely that Mo Yiyao, one of the Three Sages, had brought it back from the Medicine King Valley and scattered the seeds to grow at will. Years later, the seeds were carried by the wind and scattered throughout the Demon Palace. Other courtyards had people to clear the weeds, but the West Courtyard was left untended, which was why a fair amount remained.
This item was mixed in with all sorts of weeds; ordinary Demon Envoys and palace maids wouldn’t recognize it, let alone a little fool whose intelligence had not yet awakened.
Wu Youqi had been to Liuren City; the Gu family was selfish and calculating, doing everything to plot for the position of City Lord. There was no benefit in acting foolish regarding medical arts just to deceive him. Thinking it over, the problem could only stem from Qing-shuang Mountain, from his “good master.”
—If his soul did not dissipate, and he had a way to be reborn by borrowing another’s corpse?
Xizhu, of course, dared not question anything, repeatedly smiling and waving her hands to appease him. “The Venerable is naturally the most reasonable person.”
“Hmph,” Wu Youqi glanced at her. “Do your own job and stop meddling in others’.”
This was a pointed remark to Xizhu, letting her know he had long been aware of her connection with the High Priestess. Sweat beaded on Xizhu’s forehead, her mouth instantly turning dry; she didn’t know what to say. Wu Youqi simply left the remark hanging, having no intention of making things difficult for her.
“Enough, take good care of him.”
Xizhu looked up, but Wu Youqi had already turned his back, waving his hand as he transformed into a shadow, disappearing into the Demon Heluo Spring.
He was going to probe Qing-shuang Mountain again. Shen Yu’s assassination attempt today meant there would surely be repercussions within the mountain. Huo Lan would certainly inquire about this matter; by eavesdropping on their conversation, he might unexpectedly learn something more.
Xizhu watched Wu Youqi depart and let out a long sigh, holding her head as she squatted in place: This duty is truly becoming harder to manage.
Qing-shuang Mountain, Qingjun Palace.
Sect Leader Huo Lan was lighting the “Blessed Fortune Lamps” placed before the various patriarchs and immortals. The lamps were shaped like multi-petaled lotuses, the flowing light shining bright, capable of continuing the brilliance and breaking the darkness, thereby increasing the blessings of the disciples protected by them. A light breeze stirred, blowing all the lamp flames to tilt uniformly inward.
Huo Lan was born with a smiling face, dressed in azure-green Taoist robes. He appeared to be in his thirties, but in reality, his cultivation realm was at the Refining Void stage, and his lifespan could reach a thousand years. Without turning his head, he first tucked his sleeves and lit three sticks of pure incense, offering them respectfully to his former masters and his senior martial brother before saying: “Has Yu-er returned?”
Shen Yu’s breath was still unsteady, but he rushed in and bowed deeply. “Sect Leader, I have something to report!”
Huo Lan raised an eyebrow and turned around, smiling after looking him up and down. “Is it about your unauthorized intrusion into the Demon Realm? A day after you set off, Pavilion Master Hua had already sent word to me.”
The Pavilion Master of Li Chi Wu Hen who led the assault on the Demon Realm this time was surnamed Hua.
Shen Yu opened his mouth, but Huo Lan waved his hand. “Yu-er, I know what you want to say. I watched you grow up; you have always been steady, practical, and well-mannered, rarely doing anything out of line. But in these three years…”
A trace of helplessness flashed in his eyes. “Your assassination attempts have, in the end, been a bit too reckless.”
After Huo Lan finished speaking, he turned back to bow to the Three Pure Ancestors again before turning to help Shen Yu up and smoothing his clothes:
“Before Wu Youqi fell into the demonic path, he was already a genius rarely seen in the Cultivation World in a thousand years. He achieved Foundation Establishment at fourteen and a Golden Core at sixteen; looking across the entire Cultivation World, no one could surpass him. Even his master, Qingyi, did not achieve a Golden Core until he was in his twenties. Now that he has fallen into the demonic path, his cultivation realm has advanced by leaps and bounds. You went to kill him; is that not like throwing an egg against a rock?”
“Sect Leader, I have”
“I know you entrusted someone to buy two Thunder Fire Pearls from Yan Yang Dao, and I know you intended to launch a diversionary attack to catch him off guard. But Yu-er… he holds a divine weapon, can control dark undercurrents, and is protected by demonic energy. No matter how powerful a secret treasure you possess, I fear it cannot injure him.”
Huo Lan paused, glancing at Shen Yu. “This move was unwise.”
Shen Yu had been disciplined and observant of rites since he was a child, and it was not his place to interrupt the Sect Leader. However, his expression grew increasingly strange, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. Seeing this, Huo Lan thought he was simply unconvinced and had not taken his words to heart, so he shook his head and sighed:
“Sigh, you… really are…”
But the root of this matter lay in that murder case, which involved a life and a dao-companion deeply cherished by Shen Yu. Huo Lan knew that saying more would be futile, so he sighed again, turned, and went to pour a cup of tea.
Shen Yu waited in silence. Seeing Huo Lan open the tea lid to clear the froth, knowing he wouldn’t speak for the moment, he finally found his chance to step forward and bow:
“Sect Leader, what I wish to report is not this, but about the Immortal Venerable Qingyi.”
Huo Lan froze.
“Wu Youqi has found someone exactly like the Immortal Venerable Qingyi and is keeping him in the Demon Palace.”
Clatter. The teacup in Huo Lan’s hand plummeted to the ground.
At the same time, Li Chi Wu Hen and the Qianfeng Sect, having failed their rescue mission this time, also returned through the demon gate to their temporary camp on Rong-Zhong Island.
The camp was clearly divided; the western side was mostly filled with female cultivators from Li Chi Wu Hen, their tents neatly arranged, while the eastern side was gathered with disciples from the Qianfeng Sect and other sects.
“Hey, hey, hey? Immortal Venerable Qingyi? Did you really see it clearly?!”
“Saw it with my own eyes; how could that be false?”
Several Qianfeng Sect disciples gathered around a fire pit, whispering to one another as they added wood to the flames:
“Who doesn’t know that Shen Yu is the treasure of the Qing-shuang Mountain Sect Leader, raised like a son? When he came, even Pavilion Master Hua and our Elder didn’t dare to neglect him, fearing something might happen to him. That’s why they had me follow him secretly to protect him.”
“Then you said you saw Immortal Venerable Qingyi—but didn’t he die? Could you have misidentified him?!”
“Tsk, how could I misidentify him? He even blocked Shen Yu’s attack for the Demon Venerable! If you don’t believe me, ask this sister.”
The patrol female cultivator passing by with a lantern was suddenly called out. After being stunned in place for a moment, she smiled gracefully: “He only resembles him in form.”
“Right, right, right, it is a resemblance! It is too much of a resemblance! When I saw him from afar, I thought Immortal Venerable Qingyi had been resurrected!”
The disciple who hadn’t seen him curled his lip, his eyes rolling as he thought of something, “Then what does the Demon Venerable intend to do by keeping such a person?”
“Who knows? Such an ungrateful, heinous demon—everyone should kill him, but unfortunately, this operation failed again…”
The disciples’ whispers soon reached the central tent, where Pavilion Master Hua and the Qianfeng Sect Elder sat on opposite sides of a square table. The Elder took a sip of tea. “You heard them.”
“Yes,” Pavilion Master Hua glanced at the tent entrance, her expression complex. “Qingyi detonated his spiritual core years ago… In billions of years, there has never been a precedent on the Divine Land of such a resurrection.”
“Nothing is absolute,” the Elder shook his head. “Besides, Qing-shuang Mountain is the most protective of its own. Do not forget how Qingyi treated us three years ago.”
Back then, after Wu Youqi committed murder and was imprisoned in the Qing-shuang Mountain Penalty Hall, the Dark Element appeared not long after, and the dark undercurrents erupted on a large scale. Many small sects were swallowed whole; corpses lay everywhere, and the common people suffered.
The situation was critical, and their major sects gathered, wanting to go to Qing-shuang Mountain to demand an explanation—either deal with the Demon Star as soon as possible, or resolve the Dark Element and the dark undercurrents. But the one who welcomed them was not Sect Leader Huo Lan, but Qingyi, filled with killing intent. He stood at the mountain gate alone with his sword, not allowing them to take a single step forward.
Qingyi said he would resolve the issue of the Dark Element, but before that, no one else was to touch his disciple. Huo Lan could not watch any longer and came out to help mediate. He had barely spoken a few polite words before Qingyi turned his spear toward him:
“If the Sect Leader insists on favoring outsiders, I can resign from my position as Peak Master and leave the Jinzhou Continent with my disciples.”
“The grace the Venerable Lord has shown me over these years can be repaid with spiritual stones and spiritual energy. My sword arts and heart techniques can be discarded; I only hope the Venerable Lord will keep your word.”
Huo Lan was stifled, unable to speak, and the crowd didn’t dare to come forward anymore, as Qingyi was the only one capable of sealing the dark undercurrents at that time.
Pavilion Master Hua was silent. After a long while, she said: “But Qingyi was also very fair. Didn’t he eventually strike the demon a palm and banish him from the sect?”
“But there are also rumors that the order to banish him from the sect was issued by Sect Leader Huo Lan, because based on the timeline, Qingyi was already dead by then.”
Pavilion Master Hua shook her head, sighing, “It’s a pity Qingyi treated him like that; the demon is truly heartless and ungrateful.”
“He is already a reincarnated Demon Star; what good could he have? Shen Yu treated him so well in the past, yet he still killed the man’s dao-companion. And that was just a little doctor with no cultivation or spiritual energy.”
Pavilion Master Hua thought for a while, and finally made up her mind. “In that case, let me send a message to the Island Master to let the disciples return first, and then we go to Qing-shuang Mountain?”
The Elder nodded. “That would be good.”
This matter concerned the dark undercurrents and was a matter of life and death for the entire Cultivation World; neither of them dared to be negligent and sent messages to their respective Sect Leaders to report. And just as the two received permission and set off for Qing-shuang Mountain, Wu Youqi landed silently on Qing-shuang Mountain.
The timing of his arrival was not ideal. Shen Yu had already left, and only Huo Lan remained in the Qingjun Palace, sitting rigidly. On the carpet in the hall, there was a tea stain of moderate size; if one looked closely, one could still see some crushed porcelain powder.
Wu Youqi raised an eyebrow, crossed his arms, and looked at this man with interest: The Sect Leader rarely wore such a deeply furrowed expression in his memories.
Huo Lan, unaware of anyone in the shadows, closed his eyes and suddenly took out a small booklet from his storage ring:
The booklet was very new, without a cover, looking more like a journal.
Huo Lan didn’t open it; he only gently caressed the booklet with his hand. But just by lingering like this, Wu Youqi was able to see the title clearly:
“Classic of the Clear and Turbid Spiritual Platform.”
And he would not have misread it.
Those seven characters were clearly in Qingyi’s handwriting.