"Creeak~"
He had not waited long in the courtyard before Meng Qingyi pushed the door open and came in.
"Fellow Daoist Li, sorry for the wait," Meng Qingyi said with a smile, though a barely perceptible trace of embarrassment lingered in his eyes.
Li Ping stood up. He actually had a fairly good impression of Meng Qingyi, so he merely shook his head and smiled. "You're too kind, Fairy Meng. I haven't been waiting long."
"That's good, then."
Rather than hurrying to see Li Ping out, Meng Qingyi invited him to sit down and volunteered an explanation for why Senior Sister Dai, the sword cultivator, had summoned him for questioning and treated him so discourteously.
After hearing the explanation, Li Ping finally understood.
As it turned out, Meng Qingyi's Senior Sister Dai had a disciple she valued above all others, a genius with a dual spirit root.
With her dual spirit root aptitude and the abundant cultivation resources provided by the Azure Dragon Mountain Lineage, she had reached the peak of qi refining before the age of twenty-five, qualifying her to attempt foundation establishment.
A little over three months ago, Senior Sister Dai had bestowed a Foundation Establishment Pill upon her disciple, hoping she would succeed and add another foundation establishment cultivator to the Azure Dragon Mountain Lineage.
Who could have expected that this disciple, named Lin Yue, would be abducted shortly afterward?
Not only had all her possessions been plundered, but the chastity she had preserved for twenty-five years had also been violated. Her abductor had even tormented her for more than ten days before releasing her!
In the end, he had spared her life, but the ordeal had left Lin Yue mentally unhinged.
Her most cherished disciple, a promising future foundation establishment cultivator, had been ruined just like that. Senior Sister Dai's fury was easy to imagine. She wished she could slice the culprit into a thousand pieces.
Unfortunately, the culprit was shrouded in mystery. Even after mobilizing their forces, the Azure Dragon Mountain Lineage had failed to uncover his true identity.
Then she saw the information stating that Li Ping had successfully reached foundation establishment using a Foundation Establishment Pill purchased at the Black Market.
That immediately caught Senior Sister Dai's attention, and she ordered someone to "invite" him back for questioning.
If he had been that mysterious culprit, or truly had some connection to him...
His head would probably have been on the ground by now.
"Fellow Daoist Li, Senior Sister Dai is normally a very kind person. There was a reason for her unfriendly attitude today, so I hope you won't take it to heart." At the end, Meng Qingyi once again spoke in his senior sister's defense.
After hearing Meng Qingyi out, Li Ping could not help grumbling inwardly, A sword cultivator with a kind disposition? Like hell I believe you.
Still, how had Senior Sister Dai determined that everything he said was true?
He immediately recalled how, when he entered the palace, Senior Sister Dai's flying sword had stopped in front of him, frightening him so badly that his hair stood on end. It was that flying sword! Perhaps she could judge whether I was telling the truth through the sword bound to her life.
At that thought, Li Ping broke out in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, he was an honest man and had answered every question truthfully.
Otherwise, it was hard to say whether he would still be sitting here safe and sound.
It was also fortunate that Senior Sister Dai's questions had only concerned his origins and past experiences, without touching upon his transmigration or the Purple Qi Space in his sea of consciousness.
Otherwise... the consequences would truly have been unimaginable.
He had been lucky this time. What about next time?
Sword cultivators actually have methods like that. This Senior Sister Dai is far too dangerous, and I have too many secrets. I'd better keep my distance from her from now on! Li Ping made his decision.
Yet none of that showed on his face. Instead, he adopted a sympathetic expression. "So that's what happened. To think someone could be so deranged as to use such cruel methods on a qi refining cultivator. That's pure demonic conduct, the behavior of a beast. Anyone has the right to put him to death!"
Meng Qingyi nodded in agreement, his eyes brimming with hatred. "If that fiend falls into my hands, I'll scatter his soul into oblivion!"
Throughout their conversation, the two tacitly avoided mentioning Li Ping's foundation establishment again.
After all, even if Li Ping had known nothing of Lin Yue's ordeal beforehand, they both understood one thing.
His Foundation Establishment Pill was most likely the very one stolen from Lin Yue.
His successful foundation establishment was inextricably linked to Lin Yue's tragic ordeal.
To be precise, he had benefited from the incident. It was simply that he had been drawn into it without knowing why, and he had already used the Foundation Establishment Pill.
Senior Sister Dai and the others could hardly take their anger out on him over that.
Of course, they would not show him a friendly face either.
If I'd known where that Foundation Establishment Pill came from before buying it, would I have reported that mysterious man on the spot? Or would I have pretended not to know and bought it anyway? Would I still have swallowed it to attempt foundation establishment? Could I bear to give up that chance?
What would I have done?
Even as he vehemently cursed that mysterious man, a flood of questions challenging his own conscience rose in Li Ping's mind.
To his surprise, he realized he would actually have struggled with the decision.
When his own interests clashed with justice, he could not fully commit himself to the righteous path!
It's already happened. You knew absolutely nothing about it beforehand, and you paid spirit stones for that Foundation Establishment Pill. What are you letting your thoughts run wild for? Li Ping hurriedly reminded himself, putting an end to this pointless interrogation of his conscience.
"Senior Sister Dai had already been preparing to enter seclusion and attempt core formation," Meng Qingyi said helplessly. "But just then, this happened to Martial Niece Lin Yue, leaving a flaw in Senior Sister Dai's state of mind as well. As a sword cultivator, she seeks a clear and radiant sword heart. Unless she slays that fiend and sets her thoughts free, she may never have another chance to attempt core formation in this lifetime!"
At those words, surprise involuntarily appeared on Li Ping's face.
A suspicion also arose in his mind.
Perhaps the mysterious man had inflicted such cruelty on Lin Yue precisely to target Senior Sister Dai.
His aim... had been to prevent Senior Sister Dai from reaching core formation!
If Senior Sister Dai successfully formed her core, her strength as a sword cultivator would surely surpass that of other cultivators at the same level.
With another core formation sword cultivator, Azure Dragon Mountain's overall power would naturally swell.
By the principle of "whoever benefits most is the most suspicious," who would do such a thing?
The Chi Kingdom, the Ji Kingdom, and the Yue Kingdom all bordered Windmist Immortal City. Each possessed third-tier spiritual veins and core formation cultivators to hold the fort.
If the Azure Dragon Mountain Lineage gained another core formation sword cultivator, the threat to them would clearly increase greatly.
As his speculations ran wild, Li Ping grew increasingly convinced of his own judgment.
Someone was working against the Azure Dragon Mountain Lineage, and the situation in Windmist Immortal City was probably not as peaceful as it appeared.
I have too many secrets, and now there's some mysterious force stirring up wind and rain... Li Ping made up his mind.
He would not become a guest elder of the Azure Dragon Mountain Lineage after all. From now on, he would simply remain a rogue cultivator.
At least if something really happened and he needed to flee, being a rogue cultivator would make it easier.
There's no need to wait another ten days. I'll turn down the guest elder position outright today! Li Ping thought silently.
But to his surprise, before he could speak...
Fairy Meng had already adopted an apologetic expression and said with some embarrassment, "Fellow Daoist Li, I'm afraid I owe you an apology regarding your becoming a guest elder of our Azure Dragon Mountain Lineage."