First Arrival at Vast Sun Mountain, Willing to Believe

"Do I have to say everything?"

Shi Nandang's gaze was fixed on the floor tiles, and he didn't dare to look up at all, but he hesitated and said.

The Heavenly Emperor Body stood before him, with Zhang Taishang on his left and True Person Xie on his right, both looking at him.

"Anything."

The Heavenly Emperor Body's response caused Shi Nandang's expression to change repeatedly.

Impersonating Shi Nandang is, of course, because this person's identity is the most suitable:

He is Spirit Transformation True Person, and in a sect like Vast Sun Mountain, he is definitely a mid-to-high-level person with status and ability to access some of Vast Sun Mountain's secrets.

If we were to use Li Hao's identity again, not only would it be unfair that Li Hao is an outsider with no connections in Vast Sun Mountain, but more importantly, Li Hao was only at the Nascent Soul before, with too low a cultivation level to participate in major events.

Of course, Zheng Fa could also help Li Hao "advance" to become Spirit Transformation.

The problem is that it's too fast, ridiculously fast, which makes people suspicious.

Therefore, Zheng Fa needed Shi Nandang this identity.

To play Shi Nandang, one must first understand Shi Nandang's past, and playing Shi Nandang is more difficult than playing Li Hao:

Li Hao was taciturn and didn't have much contact with the sect, so his interpersonal relationships were very simple.

Shi Nandang was highly valued by the Lu Clan before, and in order to join the Lu Clan's direct line, he was considered a She Niu.

Therefore, playing the role of Shi Nandang well requires much more preparation than before.

"Sect Leader, isn't... isn't it possible to communicate in real time via Spirit Message?"

Shi Nandang stammered.

Yes, there are.

Previously at the Profound Mystery Sect, Elder Bixia had seen through his weakness.

Having learned from his mistakes, Zheng Fa prepared a combat team for his trip to Vast Sun Mountain, using the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government) for real-time consultation.

The Shi Nandang is also included in this.

"There might be times when communication Spirit Message is interrupted," Senior Sister Zhang explained, "Just in case."

Shi Nandang silent.

Seeing his hesitant expression, the Heavenly Emperor Body spoke to comfort him:

"Don't worry, there's no one else here, just the three of us. We won't tell anyone what you said."

Shi Nandang replied, "I have never done anything I cannot tell anyone!"

"Understood, understood!"

"... Really not going to tell?"

"Not only will we not speak, we will absolutely only use our ears, not our mouths; we will only listen and not comment."

Shi Nandang hesitated for a moment, then saw Zhang Wuyi's cold gaze and Xie Qingxue's smiling face, her hand resting on her sword...

"I, I said..."

"I received a divine destiny at the age of thirteen and entered Vast Sun Mountain..."

"After thirty-two years of cultivation, I finally became a disciple of the Lu Clan..."

"When Golden Core Stage, I..."

The Spirit Transformation True Person already possessed an exceptional memory, Shi Nandang spoke more and more fluently, eventually recounting an old story:

" In the Early Golden Core Stage realm, I developed feelings for a female cultivator from the Yun Clan within our sect, and her family found out..."

He abruptly stopped mid-sentence and looked at the Heavenly Emperor Body.

The Heavenly Emperor Body pursed his lips, raised his hand and patted his shoulder, saying nothing, as if to comfort him.

To summarize the story of Fang Shi Nandang, it goes something like this:

Don't underestimate the power of the Golden Core Elixir!

Don't underestimate the potential of Nascent Soul!

Don't underestimate the Spirit Transformation... Your great-granddaughter looks just like you.

Shi Nandang stared blankly at the Heavenly Emperor Body's sympathetic face, then looked at Zhang Wuyi, only to see the cold-faced True Person Zhang looking at the roof. He glanced to the right and saw Xie Qingxue counting the sword tassels as if she couldn't count.

"Sect Leader! Let me return to Vast Sun Mountain!" Shi Nandang cried out with his eyes closed, "I am willing to die for the Nine Mountains Sect!"

"This is..." Shi Nandang stared at the illusion before him, utterly shocked, and exclaimed, "You created a Vast Sun Mountain?"

He never expected that he would actually return to Vast Sun Mountain.

"Illusion."

For this operation, the Nine Mountains Sect once again put in the same effort as in a drill, using the methods of the World Within the Hut to create a virtual Vast Sun Mountain.

"Show me who you need to befriend and who you have grudges against."

Shi Nandang stared at the Heavenly Emperor Body for a long time before sighing, "I... I deserved my fate."

"Not really."

"Um?"

"Dealing with you didn't require this much effort."

"..."

"Yuanjun, do you know what kind of person Cloud True Immortal is?"

While the Heavenly Emperor Body was Shi Nandang, Zheng Fa was already on his way to Vast Sun Mountain.

He and the Heavenly Emperor Body were almost one; he could perceive whatever the Heavenly Emperor Body saw and heard, no matter how far away it was.

While rushing to the capital, Zheng Fa also sent a letter to Nishang Yuanjun, hoping to gather more intelligence.

The information he obtained from Shi Nandang helped him to impersonate Shi Nandang.

But there's still a big problem: Shi Nandang is currently a criminal with a heavy burden on his shoulders—of course, it's not unfair for Zheng Fa to bear this burden.

Solving this problem is extremely difficult, especially at the level of Shi Nandang.

But things are simpler at the level of Nishang Yuanjun:

Of the three Dao Fruit of Vast Sun Mountain, only Cloud True Immortal remains. Whether Zheng Fa is guilty or not is entirely up to him to decide.

The key to breaking the deadlock lies with this person.

However, it's difficult for Shi Nandang Spirit Transformation, to know Cloud True Immortal's character and thoughts.

Even among the people of Vast Sun Mountain, few know about it; probably only the core members of the Yun clan have a clear understanding of it.

But this was no secret to Nishang Yuanjun.

Sure enough, Nishang Yuanjun replied to the message shortly afterward.

"Cloud True Immortal? Alliance Leader, why are you concerned about him?"

Better safe than sorry.

Nishang Yuanjun seemed to understand and didn't ask any further questions. She simply introduced him, saying, "This person has a gentle personality, but he has been an enlightened being for a long time and has always been the actual ruler of Vast Sun Mountain."

"I've only heard that in this era, many of those who emerge from Vast Sun Mountain are that Loose Immortal Luo."

Zheng Fa's heart skipped a beat, and he asked a few more questions before changing the subject, asking:

"How is the matter of Loose Immortal Luo's revival progressing?"

"It's strange, really. Cloud True Immortal doesn't seem very enthusiastic and has been quite slow, but it's bound to take some time anyway."

Zheng Fa nodded to himself.

While the other sects among the Four Sects might not know, Vast Sun Mountain's situation is quite awkward—they have too few Dao Fruit.

If Loose Immortal Luo doesn't revive, then Cloud True Immortal will be the only pillar of Vast Sun Mountain, and it seems he'll have to run between two places.

Fortunately, the Tianhe Sect's affairs will take several decades, by which time Loose Immortal Luo should have recovered.

Zheng Fa asked for some more details, and seeing Vast Sun Mountain in the distance, he hung up the Spirit Message.

This is Zheng Fa's first time visiting Vast Sun Mountain.

He descended from the light of his escape and looked ahead.

Although Vast Sun Mountain is called a mountain, what came into Zheng Fa's view was a huge city that stretched as far as the eye could see. The southern city wall where Zheng Fa was located alone had nine gates, each with long queues in front of it.

Cultivators, spirit beasts, Law Artifact, and elixirs were categorized and moved in and out.

Only by looking up into the distance can you see a row of continuous mountain ranges standing to the north of the city.

The highest peak in the center is still covered in snow, reflecting sunlight from morning till night and illuminating the city at its foot.

Therefore, this mountain is called Vast Sun Mountain.

Shi Nandang said with no small amount of pride that, regardless of whether one is a disciple of Vast Sun Mountain or not, and regardless of one's cultivation level, if one wants to go to Vast Sun Mountain, one must first pass through this giant city and, like an ordinary person, walk step by step up Vast Sun Mountain.

Zheng Fa also asked Nishang Yuanjun about this matter.

Nishang Yuanjun replied... "Never heard of it."

As Zheng Fa entered the city gate, a Golden Core disciple, recognizing him as a Nascent Spirit Transformation from his robes, quickly approached and respectfully bowed, asking, "May I ask your name, venerable one, and why you have returned to the mountain?"

"The Shi Nandang, Ancestor Yun summons me."

"Stone... Venerable Shi?"

The Golden Core disciple was startled, and his voice involuntarily rose a little.

There were still about ten Vast Sun disciples at the city gate, all looking towards Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa looked back and saw that all the disciples had turned their heads away, not even looking at him.

The Golden Core disciple guarding the gate stumbled back two steps, as if he had encountered a plague god.

It seems that Shi Nandang has become a well-known unlucky guy in the hearts of the Vast Sun Mountain disciples.

It's no good that Cloud True Immortal summoned him back to the mountain.

He ignored the stares of the people and walked straight through the gate toward the city.

Interestingly, the city is arranged in concentric circles, with larger cities encompassing smaller ones, and smaller cities encompassing even smaller ones, like a nesting doll.

Zheng Fa also heard Shi Nandang explain the reason.

Vast Sun Mountain has stood Xuanwei countless eons, and this city, under its protection, has remained largely stable despite occasional upheavals.

The city was mostly inhabited by relatives of Vast Sun Mountain disciples, and with each generation the population grew, and the city grew larger and larger.

The city couldn't accommodate everyone at first.

People of lower social status built the outer city.

The outer city was too small to accommodate everyone, so a new outer city was built, and the former outer city became the inner city.

This cycle repeated itself, and the city grew larger and larger, with walls being built in layers.

We've now reached approximately the eleventh ring road.

At first, Zheng Fa didn't quite understand why Vast Sun Mountain wanted to build city walls—to put it bluntly, for cultivators, building even the highest city walls only tested their morality.

You'll understand once you get here:

Being able to pass through one more city wall makes one superior to others.

The city wall, over ten feet high, didn't separate enemies, but rather... the lower classes.

The inner three concentric rings of the city naturally belong to the Lu, Yun, and Luo Three Clans respectively.

I've only heard that there seems to be some conflict between the Yunluo and Yunluo clans.

The distinction between Lineage and status was so prevalent in Vast Sun Mountain that it was beyond Zheng Fa's imagination.

Who among us wouldn't envy the Three Clans?

No wonder Shi Nandang wanted the surname Lu so much before.

Unfortunately, judging from Zheng Fa's experience, the chances are slim.

He passed through one city gate after another, and with each gate, the scene of entering the city would play out almost exactly the same.

No matter how crowded the city gate was, once Zheng Fa reported Shi Nandang's name, everyone would "respectfully" make way for him.

It is evident how heavy a burden of blame Shi Nandang has been placed on.

Although Zheng Fa was not Shi Nandang, everyone faced similar challenges along the way, which significantly increased the psychological pressure.

Passing through the last city gate.

Vast Sun Mountain stood majestically before Zheng Fa.

He observed more and more carefully, memorizing everything and comparing it with Shi Nandang's previous explanations to avoid any oversights.

Looking up, Zheng Fa's first thought was—rich!

A wide, golden staircase begins at the foot of the mountain and extends towards the mountainside.

Shi Nandang there are 9,999 steps in total, enough for 24 people to pass side by side.

The most outrageous thing is that the material of these steps is not ordinary jade, but a kind of spiritual material that is not cheap—although it is not the most expensive kind, such a large project cannot have consumed a lot of Spirit Stone.

As Zheng Fa walked up the steps, he carefully observed the surroundings and discovered that Vast Sun Mountain wasn't just a display of nouveau riche extravagance.

There must be a formation within these steps.

He couldn't see the specifics, but judging from some of the Talisman Diagram, the steps at least possessed some kind of illusion, capable of confusing the eye and making it difficult to discern directions.

Even the super-rich value practicality.

After climbing the steps, Zheng Fa arrived at the largest building on Vast Sun Mountain: the Three Palaces Hall.

The Three Palaces naturally refer to the Founder.

The walls of the Three Palaces Hall are all white, except that the main hall has a golden roof, the left hall has a purple roof, and the right hall has a red roof.

Only the door to the left hall was open at that moment.

Zheng Fa took a deep breath, walked to the left hall entrance, cupped his hands, and said loudly:

"Disciple Shi Nandang requests an audience!"

The people in the hall all turned to look, their gazes varying.

"Enter."

The immortal Cloud True Immortal, seated high in the hall, remained expressionless, his eyes devoid of any warmth.

Zheng Fa stepped over the knee-high threshold and entered the hall.

There were about a hundred people in the hall, most of whom were at the Spirit Transformation stage or above.

They stood in three groups, all wearing the white robes of Vast Sun Mountain.

The only difference is the color of the hem and sleeves.

The Lu Clan revered gold, hence the gold trim embroidered with golden silk threads.

The Yun Clan favors purple, while the Luo Clan reveres red.

At this moment, the group of people with red embroidered edges on their clothes looked at Zheng Fa with the most hostile expressions, their eyes filled with anger.

The Yun Clan members also had very cold eyes.

As for the Lu Clan, whose clothes were embroidered with gold trim, their expressions showed even more disgust than those of the Yun Clan.

Shi Nandang's master was also standing there, but he kept his head down and didn't look at Zheng Fa at all.

No one spoke in the hall, but the anger, disgust, and indifference in their eyes could crush anyone.

Not to mention, Cloud True Immortal, who sat high on the platform, also looked at Zheng Fa with a chilling gaze.

"Shi Nandang? Do you know your crime?"

Zheng Fa bowed his head and clasped his hands, saying, "This disciple knows his sins!"

An elder of the Luo Clan cried out, "Ancestor Yun, this Shi Nandang! It has hindered the forging of the sword, destroyed two-tenths of the Spirit Vein of my Vast Sun Mountain, and even caused the death of our Holy Ancestor! His sins are immeasurable!"

"Please, Founder, cripple his cultivation and imprison him at the bottom of Inferno Peak to suffer the punishment of being burned alive by the Fiery Flames!"

Zheng Fa knew that this was one of the most severe punishments in Vast Sun Mountain. Generally speaking, only disciples who murdered their masters and betrayed their sects received such treatment.

Of course, if we calculate the losses caused by the Immortal-Trapping Sword incident: the Immortal-Trapping Sword, Loose Immortal Luo, and so many Spirit Vein.

Vast Sun Mountain probably wishes Shi Nandang kill his master.

Therefore, when the old man said this, no one in the hall objected. Some even nodded in agreement. Even several members of the Lu Clan who were close to Shi Nandang remained silent.

It's obvious that this is a huge problem, and no one dares to take the blame.

Cloud True Immortal looked at Zheng Fa and asked:

Do you have any defense?

"This disciple dares not; I am responsible for the matter of the Immortal-Trapping Sword."

Upon hearing this, the people in the hall looked at Zheng Fa as if he were a dead man.

"If that's the case, then tell me."

Cloud True Immortal took out the Immortal-Trapping Sword, a product of the Nine Mountains Realm, and threw it in front of Zheng Fa with a clang, coldly saying, "Tell me, how did this sword become like this!"

"Tell me how you managed to destroy my sect's Spirit Vein!"

"What's wrong with the Heaven-Earth Divine Baleful Array?"

According to Nishang Yuanjun, Cloud True Immortal was a gentle person, but the anger in his voice made it resounding, causing the roof of the palace to rumble.

Otherwise, you would be guilty of a thousand deaths!

An aura of power emanating from True Immortal enveloped the area.

Everyone was pale and trembling slightly.

"This disciple has nothing to say, only requesting to join the Inferno Peak."

I want you to say it!

Everyone in the hall was watching Zheng Fa amidst the raging waves.

"This disciple dares not speak!"

The hall fell into complete silence.

Cloud True Immortal was taken aback, and his gaze toward Zheng Fa changed slightly.

Not to mention the rest of the people.

"You wouldn't dare?" Cloud True Immortal remained silent for a long while before suddenly speaking, "What do you mean by 'I wouldn't dare'?"

"This disciple... fears I may have offended Ancestor Luo."

An even more complete silence enveloped everyone.

"How dare you!"

Just now, the elder of the Luo Clan pointed at Zheng Fa and shouted, "Are you saying it's the Holy Ancestor's fault?"

"This disciple dares not."

Instead of saying no, they said they dared not.

Everyone knows he's really daring.

Even the Yun Clan members who were watching from the sidelines were astonished, and they began to whisper among themselves, disregarding the presence of Cloud True Immortal.

The Lu Clan, especially those who had some connection with Shi Nandang before, looked at him with the same fear as if they were seeing a Shi Nandang truck.

With such a strict hierarchical system as Vast Sun Mountain.

For Shi Nandang, who is not of the Three Clans, to accuse a direct descendant of the Luo Clan is already incredibly audacious.

Moreover, Zheng Fa directly points to Ancestor Luo, one of the three patriarchs of Vast Sun!

Zheng Fa lowered his head, his face filled with fear, but his mind remained calm.

This was the only chance of survival that Senior Sister Zhang had deduced for Shi Nandang:

Instead of trying to prove his innocence, he might as well just flip the table.

To put it bluntly, Shi Nandang was the person in charge of refining the Immortal-Trapping Sword before, so it's hard for him to shirk responsibility—even if he did nothing wrong, the fact that Vast Sun Mountain suffered such a huge loss is a capital offense.

Therefore, there is no angle from which to defend one's innocence.

What are you trying to say?

"This disciple has thought long and hard, reflecting for a long time," Zheng Fa said, reciting his prepared lines, "The Heaven-Earth Divine Baleful Array has such a major problem that Spirit Transformation... simply cannot handle it."

These words don't mention Loose Immortal Luo Loose Immortal Luo all, yet every single one speaks of him.

Ironically, what Zheng Fa said perfectly aligned with common sense about Xuanwei:

The Heaven-Earth Divine Baleful Array, the Immortal-Trapping Sword, and even so many Spirit Vein are not things that Spirit Transformation can alter or even destroy.

Destructive power is also a kind of ability.

"This disciple originally thought it was a hidden handiwork by Zheng Fa of the Hundred Immortals Alliance," Zheng Fa glanced at the Immortal-Trapping Sword and sighed, "But the forging techniques are the highest Secret Method of my Vast Sun Mountain. Without cultivating the Cultivation Method of my sect, it would be impossible to achieve such results."

Cloud True Immortal stared silently at Zheng Fa, then suddenly said, "You have quite the nerve."

"This disciple is willing to die, but only wants to understand the truth, otherwise..."

The Luo Clan members could no longer contain themselves. Several Spirit Transformation took out their Life-bound Spirit Treasure and attacked Zheng Fa.

Boom!

Zheng Fa remained motionless, while the others were sent flying backward and collapsed on the ground.

Cloud True Immortal withdrew his hand.

"Ancestor Yun! He disrespects the Holy Ancestor!"

A member of the Luo Clan shouted.

"Disrespect is a crime that should naturally be punished, but the calamity caused by the Immortal-Trapping Sword must also be thoroughly investigated." Cloud True Immortal's gaze fell on Dharma Body, and he said, word by word, "The Immortal-Trapping Sword is a True Immortal Method, and no one, regardless of who it is, can escape punishment."

"Ancestor Yun!"

The Luo Clan people cried out in protest.

Zheng Fa looked directly at Cloud True Immortal and saw that his gaze was cold, yet he spoke words that subtly protected him.

He knew in his heart that this Cloud True Immortal might not have completely believed his story, but he...

I'm willing to believe.