Zhang He lay on the ground, his youthful body disintegrating and collapsing almost visibly. Flesh fell from his limbs, and even the ink lines could not hold him together. Blood poured from his pores, and in an instant a large pool had gathered on the ground.
The lay Daoist Xuanji turned her face away and let out a sob. Qingguo stared blankly at the blood on his hands. Jinzhao, on the other hand, had probably seen plenty of people being skinned and showed little reaction. She merely furrowed her brows, her expression strange.
Li Fan stared at the boy on the ground, whose shape was rapidly becoming unrecognizable, still a little dazed. He even held out the gourd to Master Yao.
The smile had vanished from the latter's face. His expression was as cold as frost as he swept his sleeve to push Li Fan's gourd aside, then addressed the three equally shocked rogue cultivators nearby.
"Thank you three for coming to lend us your aid. But what comes next is an internal matter of Ink Bamboo Mountain's Inner Sect. Please leave us."
"Zhang He, Little Crane, he... Zhang..." Qingguo was still in a daze, trying to say something.
Jinzhao suddenly tugged him back and bowed to Master Yao. "Congratulations on your sect's victory in the Tiantai Mountain sword contest. We failed to protect our fellow disciple, Little Zhang of Bamboo Mountain, and let him fall victim to the demonic path. That was our negligence. We'll visit the Zhang Family and apologize another day.
"Xuanji! Stop crying! We're leaving!"
At her sharp glare, the lay Daoist Xuanji nodded through her sobs. She didn't dare look at Zhang He's bloodied remains. After bidding Master Yao farewell, she and Jinzhao took the dazed Qingguo between them, their expressions grave. They summoned their magical flying pendants, and the three of them turned into a streak of yellow light and flew away.
Perhaps it was just Li Fan's imagination, but the instant they took off, Yao Xuanzhou swept his gaze over the three cultivators. The immortal sword Chi Qiu in his hand trembled faintly. For an instant, his killing intent surged, as if he might draw his sword at any moment.
In the end, however, he didn't strike. He simply held Chi Qiu in his hand, ran the index and middle fingers of his right hand along its spine to wipe away the blood, and let the streak of yellow light vanish into the distance.
Then he turned and bowed toward the Green Gourd floating out of the temple. "Please help us collect the remains."
The masked scholar on the Green Gourd nodded and floated over. As before, he gathered Zhang He's corpse and all the blood into the gourd. In the blink of an eye, the ground was clean, with only a faint pool of bloodstains remaining.
All trace that the young disciple named Zhang He had ever existed in this world had vanished.
Yao Xuanzhou put away the gourd and silently pondered for a while. Then he glanced at Li Fan. "Li Qingyue, where did you get that pill gourd?"
Li Fan froze and looked at the purple-gold gourd in his hand. "This? The Golden Core was bestowed by the temple master. Qin Jianshi brought it to me earlier... Master Yao, didn't you say the Nine Revolutions Golden Core could bring the dead back to life and restore flesh to bare bones? Maybe there's still time to save him..."
Yao Xuanzhou pressed his lips together and sighed. He wrapped the red sword in his sleeve and put it away. "He can't be saved. Don't tell anyone what happened just now, no matter who asks. I'll explain it to the temple master myself. If anyone asks, just say there were remnants of the Black Lotus Sect on Tiantai Mountain. They killed Zhang He, and Zhang Jiugao failed his tribulation, lost his Dao Heart, and disappeared without a trace... Understand?"
Li Fan bowed solemnly. "Master Yao, I understand. But I don't understand any of this at all."
Yao Xuanzhou sighed. "Who in this world can understand everything? The more you know, the more likely you are to be wrong. Besides, there are details even I can't quite figure out...
"Never mind. Since the temple master thinks highly of you, I'll give you a word of advice. Hold a Golden Core in your mouth, and put on the Unknown Face too."
Li Fan paused, then did as he was told. He took out a Golden Core and held it in his mouth, then put on the Unknown Face.
Yao Xuanzhou then said, "The Majestic Mount Tai, Deep Roots and Bountiful Fruits Treasure Scroll."
Li Fan's mood dropped by 1 point.
What was that...
The Profound Heaven Sword Intent remarked, "So it really is that strange technique of the Luo Sect. The Black Lotus Sect in Li Country actually obtained Ancestor Luo's true teachings? But that can't be right. We clearly killed all seven of his direct disciples..."
"This is the demonic art Zhang Jiugao used just now, the Black Lotus Sect's Mount Tai Immovable Scripture. It was one of the divine arts we seized when we exterminated the Black Lotus Saint Mother," Yao Xuanzhou said. Seeing that Li Fan showed no reaction, he continued, "This demonic art makes the body impervious to blades and spears, water and fire. It stands firm as the Five Great Mountains, immovable as Mount Tai.
"Back then, the Black Lotus Sect's fiends relied on this art. Even flying swords couldn't cut them down, making them truly troublesome. Zhang Jiugao probably stole the technique and used it alongside our sect's Dragon Fetus Feathering Pill. That was how he displayed such divine might and single-handedly wiped out the remnants on Tiantai Mountain."
That was insane! An invincible technique that could even withstand flying swords! So what was the price of using it...
Yao Xuanzhou nodded. "You saw what happened to that boy. This demonic art doesn't actually protect the body. It transfers the injuries suffered to a substitute nearby. It's an evil, self-serving technique that harms others for one's own benefit. And judging by the scapegoat he chose, the victim had to be a close relative or beloved. It's a devilish art that showed no regard for family and was utterly depraved. Don't covet the power of this demonic art or the effects of such crooked practices. These kinds of sinister techniques tend to carry heavy karmic consequences and endless hidden dangers. They're the easiest way to fall into demonic ways.
"Judging by the life-or-death duel between Zhang Jiugao and Wuchen just now, he's probably been stuck at the Golden Core Stage for all these years because he was held back by his feelings, and that's what led him down this crooked path. But no matter what his reasons were, he secretly learned the Black Lotus Sect's demonic art and used such a vicious curse on his own blood relatives and fellow disciples. Bamboo Mountain's sect rules would never tolerate that."
Master Yao shook his head with a sigh. "I should have cut down that worthless wretch with one stroke... But for the sake of our long acquaintance, I let him go for now, so he could finish what he'd put off for all these years.
"Once matters here are settled and I've reported to the temple master, I'll personally hunt him down."
Li Fan fell silent.
Zhang Jiugao was no relation of his, but in the literal sense, he had saved Li Fan's life. It was hard to believe that such a kind and righteous man, so devoted to looking after his disciples, could also have been driven to extremes by love.
But disbelief wouldn't change anything. Zhang He's blood was still fresh on the ground. If Zhang Jiugao and his senior sister had been harmed by Nangong Wuchen, then how innocent had Zhang He been? Judging from how single-mindedly Zhang Jiugao had cultivated the Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword all these years, there was no way he hadn't understood the consequences of the Mount Tai Immovable Scripture.
Perhaps the karmic price of this demonic art was that he had to choose a blood relative, like Zhang He, his grandnephew, as the person who would take his injuries. Yet Zhang Jiugao had used it without the slightest hesitation. He might not even have known that his enemy, Nangong Wuchen, was there before the sword duel, but he had still deliberately brought Zhang He, his scapegoat, along.
Was it because he still hadn't found his senior sister, and refused to die no matter what?
Perhaps Little Crane had actually been sinking into demonic ways ever since he lost track of his senior sister.
Just as he had said himself, once he crossed that line, he would have fallen into demonic ways.
*The Profound Heaven Sword Intent remarked, "It really is a shame. I'd thought that old man was too lacking in talent to learn the Mount Tai Immovable Scripture. Back then, only Ancestor Luo's seven true disciples who had attained enlightenment could fully master the scripture. They relied on this divine art to resist the siege of the Three Great Sects and nearly turned the tables.
"Fortunately, the forty-nine second-generation disciples below them, all at the Divine Transformation Stage, lacked the insight to use it properly. Their versions were full of flaws, which gave us the chance to break the Luo Sect's formation. That really was a close call.
"I never expected this old Zhang, stuck at the Golden Core Stage, to have already touched the threshold of this technique.
"Sigh, such boundless potential, all wasted because of a woman... Host, don't you ever learn from him."*
"Li Qingyue," Master Yao said, "there's more to Zhang Jiugao's situation than secretly learning a demonic art and harming his fellow disciples. He knew a forbidden technique like the Mount Tai Immovable Scripture. If he stole it himself, that would be one thing. But if nothing's missing from the sect's secret collection..."
Li Fan suddenly snapped to attention. "You mean..."
Master Yao nodded. "That means someone else taught it to him. I'm afraid there are still remnants of the Black Lotus Sect within Ink Bamboo Mountain.
"Zhang Jiugao has also been stuck at the Golden Core Stage for years and has always been responsible for teaching disciples. If he had already joined the Black Lotus Sect because of his tribulation of love, then this becomes a serious matter. A thorough investigation could cost many lives."
At that moment, Li Fan was drenched in sweat, his hair standing on end.
What was going on? What was this world of yours, exactly?!
The monstrous beasts and all those bizarre fiends were terrifying enough. But the fighting and killing between people were even more brutal.
On one hand, you said these fiends had harmed women and slaughtered innocents, and that you had to uphold Heaven's will, punish evil, and eliminate the wicked. Then you turned around and gobbled up sixteen hundred people.
On one hand, you said you wanted to save your senior sister, disciples, and fellow sect members; on the other, you sacrificed a nephew as a scapegoat.
You'd just said that harming a fellow disciple was a grave violation of the sect rules. Then the moment someone suggested there might be a demonic sect spy within the sect, you were already getting ready to draw up a list.
How could anyone live so divided against themselves...
The Profound Heaven Sword Intent remarked, "Heh heh, now you understand how good my Beichen Sword Sect is, right? If someone rubs you the wrong way, challenge them to a sword duel. No need for all the blather—fight to the death, nice and simple! Unlike these people, all righteous on the surface, twisting and turning, plotting and scheming. They make everything so complicated!"
Your kind, who just snuff out the lights and chop off heads on the spot, aren't any better!
"Qingyue, you don't need to worry," Yao Xuanzhou said, looking at the gourd in Li Fan's hand. "You haven't been in the sect long, but you've already received the mountain master's inheritance and earned the temple master's favor. No one will make things difficult for you.
"Real Person Wei, who oversees discipline, will handle all this. If he asks you about it, just repeat what I told you. It won't affect you."
That Real Person Wei who swallowed more than sixteen hundred people in one gulp? How was that supposed to make him feel at ease?!
Yao Xuanzhou stopped looking at him and gazed distractedly up at the sky, murmuring to himself, "If he had all these things on his mind, why didn't he tell us sooner? Why take it this far? Sigh, everything is fated..."
Li Fan's thoughts were in such a muddle that he could only steady himself, bow, and say, "Thank you for your guidance and advice, Master Yao."
Before you continue