Chapter 35

In just half a year, Flame Hall had gone from the greatest Sect of its day to an obscure presence on the sidelines.

The person in charge of Flame Hall's delegation this time was the First Elder.

Huo Fei had not appeared in public for many years.

As far as everyone else was concerned, Huo Fei was too ashamed to show her face.

But from what that voice was saying...

What did it mean?

Could there be more to what had happened back then?

Although nothing the voice had said was wrong, everyone loathed Huo Fei too much to listen to anything that might clear her name.

Every Sect present had lost powerful members in that Immortal-Demon War. No matter how one looked at it, Huo Fei was far from innocent.

The Five Elements Sect Master immediately knitted his brows and saluted the Spirit Sword Sect Master from a distance.

"Sect Master Jiang, I have pressing business and must leave first."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over Li Zi with pointed meaning. "Sect Master Jiang, that disciple of yours is still young. You ought to tell her which subjects the major sects consider taboo, lest she make a laughingstock of herself."

After the Five Elements Sect Master left, the other major sects departed one after another.

Li Zi was still asking the System about the Flame Hall Master in her mind.

[System, the Flame Hall Master didn't come today, did she? Everyone over there is a man.]

The System replied, [That's right. The Flame Hall Master hasn't come out in many years. She's developed depression and nearly died in seclusion, all because she feels guilty about what happened back then. The man she loved set her up. She's pretty pitiful.]

The members of Flame Hall, who were about to leave, could not help looking at Li Zi a few more times.

For all these years, Flame Hall had been the target of everyone's arrows. This was the first time anyone had called their Sect Master pitiful.

Set up by the man she loved...

They all knew what had really happened, and they had willingly borne it all.

But after so many years, any explanation would sound hollow. In the end, they had chosen to remain silent.

The Sect Master sensed the gazes from the other sects growing increasingly unpredictable. He hurried to interrupt Li Zi's thoughts.

"Li Zi, we've obtained a top-grade Marrow-Washing Pill. Once we return to the Sect, go into seclusion."

Sure enough, at the mention of the Marrow-Washing Pill, Li Zi forgot all about the gossip.

Her eyes lit up at once. "Martial Uncle, you're amazing! You got me such a rare pill so easily."

After all, the female side character in the original story had survived nine brushes with death before obtaining a Marrow-Washing Pill from a Secret Realm.

Yet all she had done was accompany her martial uncle on an outing, and now she had one!

The praise warmed the Sect Master's heart. Even the corners of his mouth rose as he tossed the porcelain bottle to Li Zi.

"Once we're back, focus on your cultivation. Don't fill your head with nonsense."

Li Zi nodded vigorously.

She only enjoyed her gossip in her head, anyway. Only she knew about it.

On the way back, the Sect Master made a point of telling Li Zi about these matters, hoping to keep her from bringing up anyone people shunned.

In the sweltering summer heat, the group stopped to rest in a small town nestled between mountains and water.

They sat in the teahouse.

The Sect Master said earnestly, "Xiao Zi, you're an immortal cultivator now, so I'll tell you about certain people everyone avoids discussing. They're taboo to the major sects. You must never bring them up in the future."

Li Zi was savoring tea brewed from Mystic Mist Leaf.

At those words, her ears perked up. Her lively almond eyes shone as she asked curiously, "Martial Uncle, who are these people?"

[Of course I won't mention them to outsiders. I'll just enjoy the gossip with the System. System, dig some up for us.]

The System answered eagerly, [You got it, Host! The Cultivation World has way more gossip than the imperial palace in the Mortal World. I've saved up plenty of points, too. In a few days, I can get you a Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart. Then you can do two things at once—enjoy gossip while you cultivate. How sweet is that?]

Li Zi was beside herself with delight.

[System, you really are my precious treasure.]

The Sect Master's face darkened. He added, "Not only must you never mention them, you mustn't even think about them!"

Li Zi's lively stream of thoughts stopped at once.

She blinked. "I definitely won't."

[It's not like anyone would know.]

The Sect Master rubbed his brow.

He was helpless.

"In the Cultivation World today, there are four people you must never bring up: Flame Hall Master Huo Fei, Si Yaoxie, Holy Son of the Demon Venerable, Cang Qing, the First Confucian Cultivator, and Immortal Hàn Rì, Ancestor of the Demon-Refining Sect."

[Host, gossip! So much gossip! So, so much gossip!]

Before Li Zi could speak, the System had already started shouting.

Every bit of that gossip meant points!

Li Zi ignored the System, which had turned into a melon-field badger jumping up and down. She took a sip of tea and suppressed her excitement.

"Martial Uncle, what did they do? Why can't anyone mention them?"

The Sect Master's expression turned grave. "What these people did in the past caused enormous harm throughout the human world. Countless lives were lost at their hands, and they carry the sin of those killings. Remember this: you must never mention them in the future. Don't even think about them!"

Li Zi nodded obediently. "I understand, Martial Uncle."

In her mind, however, she said, [System, hurry and dig around. What gossip is there about these people?]

The System said, [It'll scare you out of your wits! They're the true heroines and heroes of the story. Immortal Hàn Rì was the first woman in nearly a million years of Cultivation of the True Path to achieve Tribulation Transcendence to Immortality. She and Si Yaoxie, Holy Son of the Demon Venerable, had a love story that moved Heaven and earth.]

Li Zi rolled her eyes inwardly. [But from what Martial Uncle said, none of them sound like good people. They've killed a lot of people.]

The System hesitated. [It's hard to judge them, actually. They aren't purely good, but they aren't evil either. Huo Fei, though, is genuinely sweet and naive. Want to hear her story?]

Li Zi grew excited. [Tell me!]

The other members of the Sect at the table: "..."

The Sect Master asked quietly, "Xiao Zi, what are you thinking about?"

Li Zi snapped back to herself and took another sip of tea to cover it up.