Survival Was Hard Enough-What Room Was There for Principles?

Hua Yunxiao took a long, searching look at Su Li.

His ancestor's inexplicable resurrection could be a good thing, but it could just as easily be a bad one.

After all, when a powerful Infant Transformation Realm cultivator came back to life through an "Infant Body" and an "Infant Soul," was the one who awakened their original self—or a completely new, independent consciousness?

If it was the former, then their ancestor was still their ancestor.

But if it was the latter...

Hua Yunxiao hesitated.

Still, he had no intention of asking Su Li about it. If their ancestor really had awakened with their original will, then the man before him was exactly what their ancestor needed.

Of course, the one thing that worried him was...

Was Master Su truly devoid of talent and cultivation, or was this some means of concealing himself?

He had to think it through carefully.

As Hua Yunxiao pondered, he clasped the Heavenly Secrets Sacred Jade in his palm. A steady stream of profound, warm energy flowed from his hand into the depths of his heart, gradually calming his unease and guilt.

He had borrowed this Heavenly Secrets holy artifact, which could Shield Heavenly Secrets, from Zhuge Wuwei. With it, even Master Su would find it difficult to peer into his thoughts or divine them.

Besides, even though his daughter's transformation had succeeded, deep down, he was somewhat dissatisfied.

That dissatisfaction came from the fact that he had seen just how perilous her transformation had been.

It wasn't that his daughter had no hope at all. If she could find the person who possessed the Nine Radiance Glazed Heart and have that person break her calamity, wouldn't everything be resolved?

And that person was about to appear!

Zhuge Wuwei, the peerless Heavenly Secrets Spiritual Master, had just helped divine it and confirmed as much!

In other words, there had been no need to take this risk at all!

And they had taken it. It had succeeded, and the favor they owed was indeed immense!

But what if it had failed?

Then his daughter would have been reduced to nothing. And if he had been unable to hold back and intervened in her tribulation, he would have brought down an even more terrifying Infant Transformation tribulation, leading to the destruction of their entire sect!

The other party had displayed one miraculous divination after another along the way, until Hua Yunxiao had followed him blindly and failed to stop his daughter.

Was this how the other party had used such peril to seize the power of Heavenly Secrets and transform his own divination abilities?

Thinking of Zhuge Wuwei's analysis of Master Su's motives, Hua Yunxiao felt a chill run through him.

But he was a rational man. No matter how many thoughts he had, he suppressed them all for now!

In the end, his daughter had succeeded!

And it seemed she had even completely broken the life calamity she had been born with!

So whatever the other party's motives, this was still a debt of immense gratitude!

Su Li had no idea what Hua Yunxiao was thinking.

But by instinct, he still used the system to scan both men's Life Archives.

And that scan revealed something terrible.

In Yun Wanchu's Life Archive, Su Li saw something almost impossible to believe—something that filled him with fury. His parents' graves had been dug up!

Worse still, the entire village of Lihe, in the Luoxia Barren Mountains region, had been slaughtered. Nearly a thousand people had been wiped out, not even their bones left behind. They had all been refined alive!

Yun Wanchu had discovered this by sheer coincidence. Earlier, while investigating Su Li, he had feared that Su Li might join forces with cultivators from Yinshang Cave Heaven, so he had secretly set up several measures throughout the Luoxia Barren Mountains region.

One of them was an ancient Time Reversal Projection formation.

The formation had only one effect: it could replay a short period of time.

And it was precisely this effect that had accidentally recorded the horrifying massacre!

Without it, no one would likely have ever known who had done it.

After carefully combing through Yun Wanchu's detailed archive of the incident, Su Li followed the clues and traced them to Wu Xu Hong, Zheng Tianyin, Wang Wenyuan, and Yun Yifan.

Using that lead to identify Yun Yifan, he examined his archive and learned the general outline of Yun Yifan's motives and goals.

For an instant, a mad fury and killing intent surged within him.

Since entering this world, this was the first time he had wanted to grind someone's bones to dust.

But he already knew which path he had to take, so controlling his emotions was a crucial step.

Thus, even after seeing something that nearly drove him over the edge, even knowing that the other party intended to suppress him and forcibly seize his "opportunity," his expression barely changed.

After drinking the Nine Radiance Heart-Inquiry Tea, he had undergone a fundamental transformation. He understood all too well that to survive in a world like this, he needed a heart that stayed calm even as the sky came crashing down.

Only after forcing himself to calm down, again and again, did he carefully examine Hua Yunxiao's Life Archive.

Hua Yunxiao's Life Archive had become extremely sparse. The crucial parts had even turned into "???"

Still, Su Li picked up a few clues.

For instance, Hua Yunxiao had secretly summoned Zhuge Wuwei.

For instance, after Hua Ziyan's transformation, one of the Hua Clan's guardians had forcibly awakened from a sealed state and emerged from seclusion, releasing an immense aura of calamity. Because they shared the same bloodline, Hua Yunxiao had sensed it.

For instance, at Hua Yunxiao's request, Zhuge Wuwei had divined Hua Ziyan's fate and confirmed that her life calamity had already been "broken."

For instance, Zhuge Wuwei had also told Hua Yunxiao through his divination that having Hua Ziyan risk transforming her Nascent Soul was a way to harvest her power of Heavenly Secrets and her fortune.

And then there was Hua Yunxiao's secret borrowing of the Heavenly Secrets Sacred Jade to Shield Heavenly Secrets!

Su Li didn't use Hua Yunxiao to look up Zhuge Wuwei's Life Archive, nor did he look up the "resurrected ancestor."

He already knew without looking that such beings were powerful.

And if he did look, the other party might sense something, just like Yaolan had.

Su Li fell silent for a long moment, then sighed. "I know what happened in Lihe Village. It was a tribulation destined to come. It had nothing to do with you, Holy Lord Yun. Please don't blame yourself."

At his words, Yun Wanchu's body trembled slightly, and a melancholy look came over him.

The moment Su Li addressed him as "Holy Lord Yun," he knew the distance between them had grown.

Yun Wanchu thought the incident was his failure, the result of his own oversight. He had let Master Su's identity be exposed, leading to Yun Yifan's brutal revenge.

Hua Yunxiao sighed. "Master Su, my condolences."

Su Li nodded slightly. "Divining the Heavenly Secrets always comes at a price."

As he spoke, Su Li glanced at Hua Yunxiao. "I've troubled you greatly during my visit to Wanli Holy Land, Senior Hua, Holy Lord Yun. Now that everything is settled, I should take my leave."

Hua Yunxiao's heart stirred. "Master Su, don't be in a hurry. Once my daughter's condition has fully stabilized tomorrow, I'll have her escort you out herself."

Su Li felt a slight chill, but kept it off his face. "That would be fine."

"Master Su, if you leave alone right now, it would actually be... quite dangerous. Why not stay at Wanli Holy Land for a while?"

After hesitating for a long time, Yun Wanchu finally told him that Wanli Holy Land might have informants from other holy lands and ancient clans, and that some information had already been exposed.

Su Li knew the score. Still, he let a trace of surprise show.

Only then did he smile. "I appreciate your concern, Holy Lord Yun. In truth, none of this is a problem."

That night, the sky was full of stars and moonlight.

Su Li cast several Trigram Symbols for himself, and every one of them was grim.

Yet his mind was exceptionally calm.

That night, no one came to the Cloudxiu Peak where he was staying.

"The cultivators' world really is full of danger and deceit!"

"One careless step, and you're doomed beyond redemption!"

Su Li's expression shifted between light and dark.

Then, with a thought, he made the system's light screen vanish completely.

Before that, the Life Archives of Hua Ziyan, Fang Yueheng, Yun Wanchu, Hua Yunxiao, and even Yun Yifan had appeared one after another, then disappeared just as gradually.

"Ancestor, that body belongs to a young man who did Yunxiao a great kindness. Yunxiao cannot betray his principles."

"Your principles? What good are they? Can they preserve the Hua Clan's bloodline? Can they keep the Cloud Barrens Era from ending in destruction after ten thousand years?"

"Ancestor..."

"You fool! Survival is hard enough—what room is there for principles? He did you a kindness? Then avenge the desecration of his parents' graves. Wouldn't that repay him? Besides, didn't you already give him an extremely generous reward? That debt was settled long ago! Don't be so softhearted!"

"But what about Ziyan..."

"Does what she thinks matter? It doesn't anymore! And what does this have to do with my taking over his body? Besides, Mystic Master Zhuge has already divined that the boy should have suffered soul annihilation seven days ago! He may well hold the core secrets of the Era of Demise!

"Why is the divination art of the Era of Demise so powerful, so defiant of the heavens?

"That's the core secret Mystic Master Zhuge wants to uncover!

"Compared to the end of an entire era, compared to the survival of the Hua Clan and the Heavenly Secrets Ancient Clan's legacy, what is one mere boy? Besides, Yun Wanchu's projection formation has already uncovered Yun Yifan's motives. Rather than let Yun Yifan act and leave the boy wishing he were dead, we should take care of it ourselves.

"Those who achieve great things don't fuss over trifles!"

"Ancestor, Yunxiao... understands."