Wary

They really had been "invited" here.

These people were convicts and fugitives recruited by the Nangong Immortal Family from the northern countries. They were so vicious that they had no place left to hide in the north, and had been driven all the way to the South Border.

With the ruling families of the Twelve Countries backed by the Immortal Palace, and the Nangong Immortal Family supporting them from behind, no one could keep these fiends in check.

So what exactly did the Nangong Family want with these Demon Path cultivators?

Back then, they had suppressed the Black Lotus Sect uprising, and then the Nangong Family had torn itself apart in a struggle for power. Their strength had suffered greatly, and most of their heavenly soldiers and generals had died or been wounded. In the end, even Li Country beneath them had dared to resist the Nangong Immortal Family's exploitation. With other forces stirring the pot, Li Country had even defected to the Bamboo Mountain Sect, dealing a heavy blow to the Immortal Palace's faction.

Without the offerings of an entire country, even the mighty Nangong Immortal Family had fallen on hard times.

The Immortal King, head of the Nangong Family, was naturally unwilling to accept this and was determined to revive his house. So he had deliberately recruited rogue cultivators and fiends driven out by the Three Great Sects and the Twelve Countries, using them as his claws and fangs. There were even rumors that he had secretly struck a deal with other forces in the Immortal Palace, taking in cultivators exiled to the South Border for their crimes in the Twelve Countries and putting them to use. Tiantai Mountain was one of the places where the Nangong Family housed these lackeys.

Of course, this was the sort of deadly matter that involved mighty cultivators at the Divine Transformation level. There was nothing but rumor and speculation, with no proof. No one dared openly accuse the Immortal Palace. But the Nangong Family had indeed protected Tiantai Mountain, openly and in secret, and now they had come out and intervened without even bothering to hide it. That was proof enough.

So those demonic cultivators had originally hidden in the mountain ravines, pretending to be bandits and highwaymen, harming people as monsters and fiends. They had never dared show their true colors in the open. But lately, they had heard that the Nangong Family's young lord had mastered his divine technique and broken through to the Transformation Stage. The Nangong Family now believed that, with the Immortal King Nangong, the Immortal Queen, and the Crown Prince—all three mighty cultivators at the Divine Transformation level—as well as their allies in the Immortal Palace backing them, they had the strength to contend with Bamboo Mountain.

These monsters had grown arrogant under the protection of a powerful patron. Perhaps the Nangong Family had even instructed them to test Bamboo Mountain's limits. In any case, they no longer needed to hide. They had even cooked up a scheme about a Buddhist treasure appearing at Tiantai Mountain, openly established a cultivation site, and gone so far as to indulge themselves by eating people.

Li Fan frowned. "Eating people?"

"Yes, eating people. If they'd merely killed and robbed, disguised themselves as monks, or gotten up to filthy practices like tantric sex rites, Bamboo Mountain might not have gone to such lengths. The Immortal Palace was powerful, and there was no solid evidence."

"But when the Lu Family investigated the bandits, they actually found irrefutable evidence that those outsiders at Tiantai Mountain were eating people!"

"The women they abducted or lured up the mountain were used by those demonic cultivators until they grew tired of them. Then they'd cast demonic spells on them, taint them with baleful energy, turn them into baleful corpses, and refine them into corpse soldiers. Some even gave birth to Devil Embryos, which the demonic cultivators took to have with their wine and boost their cultivation. They were truly eating people to refine their cultivation!"

"That crossed a line no one could tolerate. Bamboo Mountain was determined to wipe them out."

"Putting righteousness aside, if we let the Immortal Palace's lackeys use demonic arts to eat people, nurture Devil Embryos, and improve their cultivation until they grew powerful—all within a day's flight of Ink Bamboo Mountain—then even if they didn't become a threat to our very survival, they'd be a festering sore that would be a real nuisance."

Zhang He was already worked up, unable to contain himself. "If the evidence is conclusive, then we should wipe out these fiends!"

Li Fan frowned. "But doesn't Bamboo Mountain eat people too?"

The three rogue cultivators fell silent again.

Zhang Jiugao spoke frankly. "Yes, we eat people too. But we eat fellow cultivators. Once you've set foot on the path of cultivation, even if you go mad and your fellow cultivators take you to have with their wine, at least this path is one we understand and chose for ourselves.

"But Tiantai Mountain eats ordinary people. They're forced into it by violence, or have their minds bewitched. They're humiliated while alive, and not even given whole bodies in death. They're made to become Devil Forms and Devil Embryos, and they never had a choice.

"Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you. Cross that line, and you're a heinous criminal who deserves to die.

"That's what it means to have fallen into the demonic path."

Li Fan nodded. If all of this was true, then there was nothing more to say. Those fiends deserved to be slaughtered to the last.

Of course, to be safe, they should first take a look at the "evidence" the Lu Family had found. But since it had stirred up such a huge commotion with this sword-fighting tournament, and given how people in this world generally behaved, the claims about those villains running wild were probably no baseless slander.

"Most of the fiends at Tiantai Mountain came from the north. Some may be wayward disciples of the Three Great Sects, and there are plenty from obscure sects whose backgrounds I can't figure out. But we've dealt with the Nangong Immortal Family many times.

"The Immortal Palace is an ancient sect that has stood since time immemorial. Its cultivation methods were created by the Immortal Venerable himself. They cultivate both mind and body. The methods are a little outdated compared to those of the various paths today, but they're still orthodox, with solid foundations and deep reserves.

"Golden Core Stage adepts all have divine light protecting them, with strange phenomena manifesting around them. That's even more true of the Immortal Palace's methods: flames blazing to the sky, dark armor gleaming in the light. You'll recognize them at a glance. If you run into one, just flee.

"Foundation Establishment disciples are a little different. There are those from the Nangong Immortal Family's main line, and those from its branches and outside households. Their strength differs greatly.

"The Nangong Immortal Family's hereditary method is the Samadhi Bright Flame Phoenix Profound Technique. It cultivates Samadhi True Fire. When you fight them, look at the opponent's forehead, both shoulders, and chest. If profound flames flow at all three points, gathering without going out, then they're a main-line disciple cultivating the Nangong Family's orthodox immortal method. They must have reached the Perfected Realm and have a Magic Treasure on them, so be sure to watch out.

"If only one or two points are protected, and the three fires aren't complete, they're branch-family disciples. The Immortal Palace's families place great importance on the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. Branch disciples not only have incomplete cultivation methods, they're also bound by restrictions. Sometimes they're even used as furnaces, with their cultivation siphoned away.

"So just look at what these people look like. If they're good-looking, they're probably attendants or bed slaves kept by the main family. They won't be taught much in the way of cultivation, lest they hurt their masters. If they're burly, they're meant to be trained as heavenly soldiers and generals. They'll definitely learn some Body Domination Technique to temper their bodies, so don't fight them at close range."

Zhang Jiugao kept giving Li Fan and Zhang He advice. He was clearly taking great care with his two disciples.

From what he said, the Immortal Palace's combat threat assessment was pretty simple. Put more plainly, it could be summed up in two words: look at their faces.

Sigh, the Immortal Palace really was a cutthroat place...

Profound Heaven Sword Intent indicated that the Immortal Palace's methods emphasized steady progress, with solid foundations and stable cultivation. Its Samadhi True Fire wasn't Chisha Zhenqi; it was made by combining the five types of qi through a secret method. If their cultivation levels were equal, one basic sword qi wouldn't be enough to disperse it. He had to be careful.

Li Fan felt a little more at ease after getting some coaching before the tournament. He then asked targeted questions about the spells commonly used by Foundation Establishment disciples of the Immortal Palace: their range, casting time, cooldown, number of uses, and so on.

Those terms left the cultivators a little bewildered, but the meaning wasn't hard to grasp. The Nangong Family's disciples had been powerful in Li Country for a long time, so Zhang Jiugao and the three rogue cultivators described the Nangong Family's immortal arts they had seen. Li Fan jotted them all down in his little notebook.

All things considered, Foundation Establishment was an awkward stage. The most powerful flying swords could track targets at a distance, attack automatically, and come with flashy visual effects, but cultivators at this stage couldn't afford to raise one. Even if an elder gave them a Magic Treasure for protection, they could at most throw it out to smash something once or twice before their true qi was depleted.

Their bodies weren't tough enough to withstand much, either. Arrows could kill them, and swords could bring them down. Once they ran out of Dao Breath and their limbs went weak, even an ordinary person could catch them off guard and wound them. Getting stuck at this threshold was truly awkward.

So the spells they used most often were mid- to short-range attacks within their line of sight.

The Five Elements Escape Method, basic Sword Qi, various sword arts and incantations, and the Nangong Family's Samadhi Immortal Fire could all be launched as attacks. No matter how proficient you were in the Body Domination Technique, blades had no eyes in close combat. One mistake and you could be disemboweled, so it was better to play it safe.

By the time they reached Tiantai Mountain's territory, Li Fan had memorized all the data on common Samadhi True Fire spells used at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Honestly, if he could take a look at the Nangong Family's cultivation method and learn how they refined Samadhi True Fire, he could pass himself off as an Immortal Palace disciple right then and there.

"We're almost there. Everyone stay alert and watch out for an ambush." On the flying boat, Zhang Jiugao drew the Chi Qiu sword and prepared for a fight. The others also took out their dazzling Magic Treasures.

Cultivator Xuanji held a hairpin of apricot-yellow wood with a pearl dangling from it. Qingguo carried an olive-shaped jade hammer, while Jinzhao held a spittoon... Uh... or was it a flowerpot? No, a spittoon. It really did look like a spittoon...

Profound Heaven Sword Intent had already reminded Li Fan that the two children, Qingguo and Jinzhao, had probably been reborn after their bodies were destroyed. It wasn't hard to imagine that they had family heirlooms from their previous lives.

But what he hadn't expected was that Zhang He also took out a two-foot-long jade sword, like a paper knife, and held it in both hands as he prepared for battle.

Li Fan looked at the pair of plain iron maces in his own hands and sighed to himself. Cultivation really was a pay-to-win game. No wonder Fuling and Xuanbao had to risk their lives fighting for a chance at fortune. Those with family and fellow cultivators to protect them could just sit back, watch, and enjoy the show.

Fortunately, no one ambushed them. On a low peak near Tiantai Mountain, a streak of light rose into the sky. From a distance, they could see a green pillar of light waving like a banner. It was probably some sort of formation.

Li Fan scanned the area with his Divine Sense and saw bright talismans lit near the banner of light. That had to be where the Ink Bamboo Mountain disciples were stationed.

Zhang Jiugao sent out a flying talisman. A moment later, a golden light rose from the pillar, circled around, and then the pillar opened a gap.

Zhang Jiugao bowed to the golden light, then steered the flying boat down into the formation under its guidance.

The hilltop held a dilapidated nunnery that the Ink Bamboo Mountain disciples had borrowed for the time being. They had cleared the grass from the courtyard, tidied up the side buildings, and put up a large formation so they could stay there for a while.

Even from a distance, they could see people moving about in the nunnery. More than thirty cultivators had gathered there. A pill furnace had been set up right in front of the courtyard, where they were brewing pills and meditating as they recovered their Dao Breath.

Li Fan spotted Fuling sitting among them. She hadn't lost any limbs, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief. But she had her eyes closed as she regulated her breathing, and seemed to have suffered some internal injuries. Her brow was furrowed, and her face was ashen. She clearly hadn't come away unscathed.

Lu Xing was there too. She was the only one standing guard at the courtyard gate instead of meditating. Her appearance and dress were neat and proper. The woman who had stirred up all this trouble looked as if nothing had happened, still as calm and composed as ever. Li Fan felt his anger flare.

But Yuan Xuanbao, Senior Brother Gao, and Lu Qi's group were nowhere to be seen. The captured disciples were probably their companions. He had no idea whether anyone else had died.

"Master Yan, how are things?" Zhang Jiugao glanced at the Ink Bamboo Mountain disciples outside, then immediately put on a stern face. He led the others over to greet a round-faced, bearded Daoist in black robes who was guarding the formation.

Li Fan didn't disturb Fuling while she recovered. He followed the others into the main hall to pay his respects. The moment he entered, he smelled blood. Turning his head, he saw a row of coffins in the side hall, each sealed with talismans and tied with red rope.

"Junior Brother Zhang, you've arrived." Master Yan the Real Person, the bearded man, nodded. "We struck first and rescued some of the women the Demon Path had imprisoned. We were about to withdraw when another group suddenly appeared and attacked in the confusion. They had come to loot the place. I spotted some Bamboo Mountain disciples among them and immediately turned back to save them, but they scattered. We couldn't get about ten of them out. Tiantai Mountain reacted and trapped them on the mountain with a Magic Treasure.

"I recognized it as a Magic Treasure like the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover. Even the genuine one takes nine days to burn someone to death. A few days shouldn't put them in any danger, but everything was so chaotic at the time that I don't know the details."

Zhang Jiugao had also noticed the coffins beside them. "You did all you could, Master Yan. These are...?"

"The women. They'd all been cursed. As soon as they left the mountain, the baleful energy inside them was triggered, and they turned into baleful corpses. Tiantai Mountain really may have mastered a demonic method for refining living people into baleful corpses. I sealed this evidence in the coffins. Senior Brother Yao will arrive shortly. We'll take these irrefutable proofs and demand an explanation from the Immortal Palace."

Master Yan paused, then suddenly lowered his voice. "Xiao He, I saw Nangong Wuchen at Tiantai Mountain."

Zhang Jiugao's eyes widened, his beard bristling. "So he really was still alive!"

"He even returned the favor with a sword. He was full of life. But it's fine. I cut off one of his arms and half his face, so I didn't come out too badly." Master Yan shook his head, then pulled open his black robe to reveal a sword wound over his heart. The blade had actually pierced right through his heart, yet he was still alive!

Li Fan saw the veins bulging over Zhang Jiugao's knuckles.

But Zhang Jiugao turned back with an expressionless face and said to Li Fan and Zhang He, "It's fine. I'll treat Master Yan's wound, and we'll be all right once Master Yao arrives. You two, go stand guard outside."

He was clearly dismissing them. The three rogue cultivators who were his friends all looked serious and stayed inside. Li Fan guessed it was probably about old grudges and personal vengeance, things they didn't want the juniors to know. He tugged at Zhang He, who still hadn't caught on, and the two of them took their leave and went outside to guard the Foundation Establishment disciples recovering from their injuries and replenishing their energy.

"Family Head Lu." Li Fan found Lu Xing outside and saluted her. "There are some things I'd like to ask you about. Would it be convenient?"

Lu Xing returned the salute, then glanced at the flying sword in Zhang He's hands. "Junior Brother, please help me guard our fellow disciples. Junior Brother Li, let's speak over here."

Zhang He quickly nodded.

Li Fan followed Lu Xing to the side hall. Then she bowed deeply. "Junior Brother Li, I acted for personal revenge and dragged so many fellow disciples into danger. If Sister Fuling hadn't stepped in, I would have already lost my life. She's now badly injured, and I truly feel ashamed..."

Li Fan frowned and raised a hand. "You don't need to tell me that. Apologize to them yourself. I only want to ask Family Head Lu: do you know where Yuan Xuanbao is? What about Lu Qi? Were they trapped together, or are they both dead?"

Lu Xing shook her head. "The fighting was extremely dangerous. I truly don't know. Did Senior Brother Yuan and Lu Qi come too?"

Hearing her say the same thing again, Li Fan felt his anger rise. He nodded and gave a cold laugh. "There's no one else here, so don't pretend with me. When you set out, your boat was moving at full speed, and you left in a hurry. You didn't tell even me, Sister Fuling. Zhang Jiugao is tight-lipped, too. No one else could possibly have known who you were going after or where you were attacking.

"But Lu Qi and his group somehow knew to make their move at Tiantai Mountain. They even dragged along a bunch of fellow cultivators who knew and were friendly with Lu Qi, taking their time to invite them to come loot the place. Where did they learn the location and the Lu Family's plans? If you didn't tell them, who did?

"If you'd asked Lu Qi for help and brought more people along, that would make sense. But you didn't even mention this second group of fellow disciples to Master Yan inside. If he hadn't realized on the spot that the second group were also Bamboo Mountain disciples, he'd have just left them there, thinking they were looters taking advantage of the chaos.

"Ha, what a clever arrangement. You lured these people over to cover your retreat. If anything went wrong, they'd be blamed for coveting treasure and fighting without permission. You'd have rendered a great service to Bamboo Mountain and escaped unharmed, while the sect could use its dead disciples as an excuse to go after Tiantai Mountain.

"And you, Lu Xing, would not only eliminate a rival and his many brothers, but use the sect's power to take revenge for your family. Now you'd be firmly in control of the Lu Family's estate, and Bamboo Mountain would surely reward and promote you. Heh. You used so many people and set so much in motion without losing so much as a hair. Why wouldn't the sect appreciate you?

"Even if your eldest brother, all the way over in the royal capital of Li Country, came back, how could he compete with you? Come to think of it, he still hasn't come to pay his respects. Is he really still alive?

"Tsk, no matter what, that shot at Tiantai Mountain was truly a masterpiece. You brought down every bird in the sky, the whole family of eagles, all in one neat row!

"And you're apologizing to me? You feel ashamed? What do you have to feel ashamed about? You're probably delighted!"

Lu Xing was silent for a moment, then spoke softly. "Junior Brother, you've misunderstood. I never intended any of that."

Li Fan nodded again and again. "Of course you never intended any of it. It all happened by accident. It was all because of other people's selfish desires. Everyone had their own plans. How could anyone blame you? How could any of it have been your doing? All we can say is that you're so thorough and capable that no one can get their hands on any evidence.

"Of course, I don't have proof either. But somehow, you're the one who benefited the most. How are you supposed to clear yourself of suspicion? I can't stand these underhanded tricks that hurt people, and I'm not qualified to judge your brilliant plans. But have you ever thought about what would have happened to you and Sister Fuling if you'd lost and fallen into the hands of those evil monks at Tiantai Mountain?

"I'm sure you've considered it. You were born with nothing, so you had to risk your life and gamble everything. And you didn't believe you could lose, so you didn't even care about your own life. Why would you care that you dragged other people into danger with you?

"Family Head Lu, I don't care what you decide to do. I'm just letting you know: whether it's the Jiang family business or Tiantai Mountain, you've used Sister Fuling twice now. Three strikes and you're out. I'll remember that.

"And Yuan Xuanbao's life is another one I worked hard to save. He hasn't even repaid the interest yet. If he dies just because he's Lu Qi's friend, killed off by you in some inexplicable scheme...

"Heh. Then you and I will be enemies."

Li Fan cupped his hands toward Lu Xing, then turned around openly, baring his back to her, and sauntered out.

Sword Intent, was she planning to attack me from behind? Was she going to ambush me?

Profound Heaven Sword Intent indicated that she wasn't. She was biting her lip and crying.

Bullshit. Crying? Her father died and she didn't shed a tear. Now she was putting on an act!

But Li Fan made it all the way outside and stood beside Zhang He, who was tense and jumpy, afraid that someone might ambush them. Lu Xing still didn't make a move.

Tsk, what a shame. I couldn't get a rise out of her. There went half a Golden Core...

Bah. Kun, you try it. It tastes like licorice.