Startled by him, Gu Shi quickly explained, “I am not here to steal the spiritual plants. I merely happened to acquire a fledgling bird and wanted to find some spiritual insects for it to eat, but it did not eat a single one, nor did it touch anything else.”
Mu Qinghe paid him no mind and continued weeping bitterly. Rack his brains as he might, Gu Shi could not figure out how to comfort him, so he simply turned to leave. Just as he took two steps, however, he saw a graceful man in cyan robes dashing over, his face etched with unconcealed joy, though his expression shifted instantly upon hearing the weeping.
Gu Shi recognized him: Mu Qinghe’s second junior brother, Zhu Yingzhen.
Zhu Yingzhen blocked Gu Shi’s path. Clearly misunderstanding the situation, he frowned and said, “Even if you are the sect master’s son, you cannot bully people.”
Gu Shi was bewildered. What did this have to do with him?
“I am not bullying anyone. I was just passing by.”
Zhu Yingzhen did not believe his explanation. “If you are not bullying Senior Brother, why is he crying?”
Gu Shi furrowed his brow. “How should I know?”
Zhu Yingzhen’s frown deepened. He pulled out a communication stone and began calling for backup. “Master, Gu Shi is bullying people.”
Before the words had even faded, Mu Qinghe, who had been silent all this time, hurriedly explained, “It has nothing to do with him. Do not tell Master.”
Hearing this, Zhu Yingzhen quickly added, “Master, it is fine.”
Yet before he could finish speaking, the other end disconnected the communication stone. Paying it no mind, Zhu Yingzhen hurried to Mu Qinghe’s side, crouched down to support him, and asked gently, “Senior Brother, what on earth happened?”
Tear tracks still wet on his face, Mu Qinghe stammered between sobs, “The sect master said it cannot be spoken of outside, so do not ask.”
Hearing this, Gu Shi knew things were about to go wrong. Sure enough, the moment the words left his mouth, Zhu Yingzhen looked over at him, his gaze resentful and filled with hidden malice, though he said nothing.
Gu Shi could only offer another dry explanation. “It really has nothing to do with me.”
Mu Qinghe sniffled, his voice choking with tears. “You should leave.”
It was over. The misunderstanding was truly beyond explaining. Utterly helpless and realizing there was no point in explaining further, Gu Shi turned to leave, only to see a figure in white drifting gracefully over.
Floating clouds rolled across the mist, and the bright moon cast a flowing radiance, which was none other than the second elder of the Yuan Dao Sect, Yu Chanxin.
Gu Shi had only ever caught a distant glimpse of Yu Chanxin once before, thinking him merely a striking person. Now that he was close, however, he realized how terrifying Yu Chanxin’s surrounding aura was. Despite his hibiscus-like face, his eyes were as cold as frost and snow, and his gaze hung like a sharp blade suspended before one’s neck.
This backup was far too overbearing; cold sweat broke out on Gu Shi’s forehead as he cupped his fists respectfully and called out, “Second Elder.”
“Apologize.”
Yu Chanxin’s voice was like ice shards, chilling one’s limbs and bones to the core. Just as Gu Shi was about to explain, Mu Qinghe’s voice rose from behind him. “I am sorry.”
As soon as the words fell, Gu Shi distinctly felt the air pressure around Yu Chanxin drop even lower. “I was not talking to you.”
Seizing the opportunity, Gu Shi hurriedly spoke up to explain once more, “It really has nothing to do with me. I was just passing by.”
Zhu Yingzhen had not believed it a moment ago, and he believed it even less now. “Passing by does not stop you from bullying people. Senior Brother just said it was an order given by the sect master.”
Mu Qinghe’s face turned pale. Glancing sideways at Yu Chanxin’s expression, he hurriedly pulled on Zhu Yingzhen and whispered a warning, “Do not speak of it.”
Zhu Yingzhen had been about to say more, but upon hearing Mu Qinghe’s words, he pressed his lips together and ultimately kept quiet, casting a grievance-filled gaze toward Yu Chanxin.
Yu Chanxin looked at Mu Qinghe. “Speak. What is going on?”
Beneath Yu Chanxin’s gaze, Mu Qinghe could barely lift his head. He shook it and replied in a low murmur, “Master, forgive me. The sect master gave word that this is a sect secret and cannot be leaked outside.”
Yu Chanxin said coldly, “What sect secret is there that even I cannot know?”
Zhu Yingzhen advised in a low voice, “Senior Brother, just tell him. Otherwise, if Master storms into the legislative hall later, it will be even harder for us to explain.”
After hesitating several times, Mu Qinghe finally spoke. “The Wuxiang Sect has come early to collect their labor fees.”
Yu Chanxin’s brow snapped into a tight frown. Without a word, he turned and flew off on his flying sword. Watching Yu Chanxin’s retreating back, Mu Qinghe wore a look of utter despair, looking as though he might burst into tears again. “It is over. Master has gone to the legislative hall.”
Zhu Yingzhen still did not understand. “They came to collect labor fees, so why are you crying?”
Only then did Mu Qinghe explain, “The sect master cannot produce that many spirit stones, so he plans to use the Dan tree to pay off a portion of them.” At this, Mu Qinghe choked up again. Not only Mu Qinghe, but Zhu Yingzhen began to cry as well, the two of them embracing the Dan tree and weeping together.
Listening to their mournful cries, Gu Shi curiously eyed the towering Dan tree before him: crimson stalks, thick and round leaves shaped like flattened mushrooms, and five-colored fruits the size of thumbs hanging between the leaves. A faint, sweet fragrance wafted over, which at a glance was clearly a treasured item.
Not understanding what was truly going on, Gu Shi decided not to linger and turned toward the entrance. Along the way, he ran into the disciple who had given him directions earlier, so he asked, “That Dan tree over there, it is worth quite a lot, isn’t it?”
Upon hearing mention of the Dan tree, the disciple immediately grew tense. “Did you touch the Dan tree?”
Gu Shi shook his head. “No, I just thought it looked rather pretty.”
The disciple let out a breath of relief before explaining, “The Dan tree is the highest-grade spiritual plant in the spiritual plant garden. Senior Brother Mu risked his life to obtain it fifty years ago in the Starfall Secret Realm. Ever since it was planted, it has been watered with jade paste daily. Senior Brother Mu carefully nurtured it for fifty years, and in another half year, it will mature. A single mature five-colored fruit can refine one Foundation Establishment pill, and countless disciples in our sect are counting on it.”
Gu Shi understood. Spiritual Qi was sparse in this realm, and those capable of cultivating were already one in a million. Reaching the Golden Core stage allowed one to reign supreme over a region, yet countless people spent their entire lives stuck at Foundation Establishment. This was a loss for the entire sect, which explained why Mu Qinghe was so heartbroken.
Gu Shi asked again, “What are labor fees?”
“You do not know?” The disciple looked somewhat surprised, pressing his lips together as if reluctant to speak.
Gu Shi genuinely did not know. Although he had read the original text, a novel of several million words, let alone reading it ten lines at a glance, even if one read it word for word, remembering a few major events three months later meant one already had a good memory.
“The Second Elder mentioned a bit of it earlier, but I did not catch all of it. Senior Brother Mu and Senior Brother Zhu are grieving, so I did not press them for details. If it is inconvenient to discuss, I can go ask the Second Elder instead.”
The disciple knew the people who had arrived earlier and harbored no suspicion toward Gu Shi’s words, so he began to explain.
According to the unwritten rules accepted in the cultivation world, a sect standing in a region had to protect the local people. Fifteen years ago, an elder of the Wuxiang Sect happened to pass by and slay a demonic beast that was ravaging a village. That village happened to lie within the sphere of protection of the Yuan Dao Sect, so the Wuxiang Sect used this as a pretext to demand labor fees from the Yuan Dao Sect.
Later on, as the Wuxiang Sect grew increasingly powerful, demanding labor fees from various sects became customary. In the past, it was requested once a year; for some reason, this year the interval had suddenly been shortened by half.
Having heard the whole story, Gu Shi could not help frowning. Was the Yuan Dao Sect really that weak? He had thought the male protagonist’s sect was one of the top major sects.
As a member of the Yuan Dao Sect, Gu Shi felt it was imperative for him to go see what on earth was going on.
Steering his paper crane toward the legislative hall, he was blocked at the entrance by the guard disciple. “Flying is not permitted in the legislative hall.”
Gu Shi stepped off the paper crane and produced his inner sect disciple token.
Although he had been unable to cultivate previously, Gu Yan feared he would be ostracized by others, so he had gone against public opinion to accept him as a disciple. By seniority, apart from the three elders at the top, every disciple in the sect should have addressed him as senior brother, though no one took it seriously, and he himself had never bothered with it either.
The original Gu Shi had been a low-key and reclusive person who rarely even stepped out of his courtyard. Had Gu Shi not transmigrated and suddenly started delivering treasures to Shen Yusheng, the entire sect probably would have forgotten his existence entirely.
With the inner sect disciple token, the guard disciple did not stop him and let him inside.
As he drew near, he heard Yu Chanxin’s angry voice ring out. “If he asks for it, you give it to him? If he wants the position of sect master, will you hand that over on a platter as well? Gu Yan, since raising a child has softened all your backbone, I say you might as well step down from the seat of sect master.”
This was a harsh reprimand. Standing outside the door, Gu Shi hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he should enter. But the people inside did not give him a choice; the moment he stood still, Yu Chanxin’s voice reached him. “Since you are here, get in here.”
Gu Shi braced himself, pushed the door open, and walked inside. Yu Chanxin was already seven parts furious, but seeing Gu Shi flared up another two parts. “What are you doing here?”
Gu Shi could hardly admit he came to watch the show, so he chose more pleasant phrasing. “I came to see if I could help.”
Yu Chanxin was entirely blunt. “The only help you can offer is not being born. Can you still help now?”
Gu Yan did not mind being scolded, but he could not bear seeing his son yelled at. He immediately stepped in front of Gu Shi, blocking Yu Chanxin’s fiery gaze. “Junior Brother, the child meant well. Stop yelling at him.”
Yu Chanxin’s brow formed a deep crease. “Look at you, is there even a shred of the vigor you had back then left? Gu Yan, do not think about smoothing things over this time. If we do not fight them once, the Wuxiang Sect will really think my Yuan Dao Sect has no one left. They want to seize everything; is the Wuxiang Sect a sect or a band of bandits?”
Unable to persuade him any further, Gu Yan simply pulled out his communication stone. “Third Brother, come to the legislative hall.”
A soft, clear voice came through the communication stone. “Sect Master, I will come as soon as I finish maintaining my guqin strings.”
Yu Chanxin said coldly, “It does not matter who you call; even if I die at the hands of the Wuxiang Sect, it is better than enduring this humiliation.”
Before the words had finished, the communication stone was unilaterally disconnected by the other end. Putting the communication stone away, Gu Yan tried to persuade him once more. “Let us talk things through properly. We have made it through all these years; a year more or less does not make a difference.”
Yu Chanxin sneered. “Year after year, do you look like the Wuxiang Sect is ever going to be satisfied?”
Gu Yan replied, “Everyone is in the same boat; he is not just targeting us.”
The more he spoke, the angrier Yu Chanxin became. “A bunch of spineless cowards, that is why the Wuxiang Sect is so arrogant.”
While he was still scolding, the door was pushed open once more. A handsome man in light blue robes carrying a guqin hurried inside. It was the helper Gu Yan had summoned: the third elder, Wen Qingtang. Following closely behind him were three stern-looking men, his disciples, Cen Ji, Yue Tianji, and Zhong Juetian.
Seeing those three disciples, Gu Yan massaged his temples. “Why did you bring those three along?”
Though Wen Qingtang’s voice was gentle, his words were equally unsparing. “If we cannot talk Senior Brother out of it, we cannot just let him walk off to his death alone.”
Yu Chanxin looked at the newcomers. “There is no need to talk me out of it. The Wuxiang Sect goes too far; I must demand an explanation.”
Cen Ji, Yue Tianji, and Zhong Juetian immediately chimed in with firm voices. “Exactly! We have wanted to do this for a long time. This bitter resentment has been pent up in our chests for over ten years, and we will not feel better until we vent it.”
Their voices were so loud that they practically shook the roof tiles. Gu Yan cast a glance at Wen Qingtang, who walked over to Yu Chanxin and smoothly began to persuade him. Yu Chanxin kept a cold face and said nothing, but Cen Ji, Yue Tianji, and Zhong Juetian grew more and more spirited as they spoke, looking as though they were ready to charge into the Wuxiang Sect and slaughter everything in sight at any moment.
Gu Shi’s attention remained fixed on Wen Qingtang. From Wen Qingtang’s words, Gu Shi learned that the Wuxiang Sect was the premier great sect of the current era, boasting over a dozen Golden Core cultivators and two Nascent Soul cultivators, whereas Yu Chanxin, Wen Qingtang, and Gu Yan, the top powerhouses of the Yuan Dao Sect, were all at the Golden Core stage. If a real fight broke out, the Yuan Dao Sect would be utterly wiped out and exterminated.
This was precisely why various sects remained perpetually oppressed yet dared not resist.