Matters Settled

On the placid lake, wind and waves rose on every side. Surging light of primordial magnetism plunged into the water, stirring whirlpools. Golden essence qi burst forth, rising high into the sky and turning into wind and frost.

Xi Ming could no longer tell what state of mind he was in. His usual practice of calming his qi and focusing his spirit proved useless. Whenever he thought of his disciple, his heart twisted with pain.

He cultivated the monastery's secret fifth-grade cultivation method, the Golden Essence Autumn Flow Method. Upon reaching Foundation Establishment, his immortal foundation would be called [Golden Heaven Purity], manifesting wind and frost above and bringing golden autumn below, with golden essence qi moving at his will.

Sword light spread like frost and snow filling the sky. Golden qi surged, tearing through Zhu Yuanyun's protective treasure light like a raging torrent. Xi Ming's eyes had reddened, his reason clouded, and he raised his sword to strike.

"Enough."

The old Daoist in the treasure pavilion appeared and finally intervened. Taking a fly whisk, he swept it gently. It grew in the wind and swept the two men fighting over the lake back to him.

"This is a renowned Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Longevity Monastery. His name is Hua Xihe, and he is known as the Wondrous Calculator Daoist."

Beside Xu Xuan, Liu Qiuqi quietly explained the newcomer's background.

After sweeping the two men back from the lake, the old Daoist extended his withered-branch hand and grasped at empty air. A crimson thread appeared, its ends connected to Xi Ming and Zhu Yuanyun.

His expression grave, Hua Xihe snapped the thread, drawing a shrill insect cry. As for Xiao Cunsi, three Grand Talismans had now been affixed to him, sealing his Three Origins and rendering him immobile.

"Xi Ming, you were tainted by a strand of Divine Ability. The urge to fight arose in you without your knowing it. Had you truly killed these promising seedlings who have yet to reach Foundation Establishment, did you ever consider what would become of you?"

The old Daoist questioned him sternly.

Below him, cold sweat broke out on Xi Ming's back. Remembering how he had nearly ruined everything, how he had gone mad trying to stand up for his disciple and had even harbored murderous intent, he felt a wave of lingering fear.

On the other side, Zhu Yuanyun also came to his senses. He fell silent and stopped confronting Xi Ming at every turn. Recalling his own actions just now, he too felt chilled with fear. He had nearly died beneath another man's sword.

The old Daoist swept his lightning-sharp gaze across everyone, but could discern nothing and had to give up.

Just then, those in the Underground Palace were also transported out. Liu Xiaowen and the others were delivered onto the Cloud Ladder, and Hua Xihe swept them over with his fly whisk.

The people from every clan felt uneasy, fearing that the old Daoist might employ some method on their juniors.

"I cannot discern it. Why?"

Hua Xihe was somewhat astonished. The first person possessed by that poisonous creature had to be among these four, and traces of its aura should still have remained on them. Yet no matter how he performed his calculations or activated his immortal foundation, he could see nothing.

Xu Xuan felt a lingering fear. He had clearly sensed Liu Xiaowen's earlier transformation. Xiao Cunsi's descent into madness most likely had much to do with him.

The man from the Duan Clan, however, looked displeased and stepped straight forward.

He was Duan Chengsi, the direct-line Duan Clan member who had obtained a [One Origin Harmonious Peak Pill] alongside Xu Xuan last time. He was short. It seemed the members of the Duan Clan were generally not very tall.

The Duan Clan was currently headed by this man. Duan Chengsi spoke urgently:

"Senior, please release my nephew. Do not forget who wishes to take him as a disciple."

Hua Xihe wavered and looked at Duan Pingdu. Seeing that his cultivation had reached late-stage Fetal Breath, he knew the boy had clearly consumed the portion of Spirit Spring Pure Qi prepared by the Longevity Monastery. Somewhat displeased, he said:

"This youngster of yours swallowed something belonging to our monastery. How are we to settle that account?"

"Senior, True Person Lingji issued instructions allowing my nephew to act as he pleased. Within the Underground Palace, everyone depends on their own opportunities. How can you say he stole something from your esteemed monastery?"

Duan Chengsi tried to persuade him in a low voice, while Duan Pingdu remained composed beside him, showing not the slightest fear.

"True Person Lingji."

The old Daoist felt helpless and could only send the Duan Clan's youngster back.

"As for the remaining ones, I will take them back to the monastery and ask a True Person to examine them."

Zuo Mohe of the Hollow Sword Gate could no longer remain seated. He rose, anger simmering beneath his words.

"Senior, times are no longer what they were. Generation after generation, each clan in the Plainlands can only nurture a single direct-line descendant fit to reach Foundation Establishment."

"Those above have already agreed: this would be the last time, and afterward the clans would be left alone. If there is a problem, come to us. Why make things difficult for children?"

Liu Qiuqi and Xu Xuan also stepped forward to plead their case, afraid the old Daoist would truly take their juniors away just like that. Whether they would ever return would then be hard to say.

Hua Xihe's expression darkened. None of these people could be touched lightly.

Xu Xuan and Zuo Mohe had caught the eye of the Great Shaman in the Wilderness of Witches. The shaman intended to choose one of them, take him away through a Demon Embryo when he reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, then have him break through to Foundation Establishment and refine him into a Witch Sword. No one knew which of them would be chosen.

The identity of the Duan Clan's junior was shrouded in mystery. He seemed to have been born with knowledge and had caught the eye of True Person Lingji of Dingji Mountain.

As for Liu Qiuqi, the Thunder Edict Path had already reserved him, and he would enter the Thunder Pool.

Not one of them was easy to deal with. Moreover, they were still counting on these people to reach Foundation Establishment and gather Ancient Shu's fortune, making rash action all the more impossible.

The old Daoist looked at Xi Ming beside him and sighed. He released the four and said quietly:

"Xi Ming, Xiao Cunsi was already dead when he administered the poison. All that remained was a body driven by a Divine Ability."

Xi Ming could not utter a word. He withdrew in silence, accepting that his disciple was beyond saving.

"One of you employed some trick. I will not let this matter rest. Even if you reach Foundation Establishment and escape the reckoning to come, do not forget what happened today."

Hua Xihe looked grim. He had assured his disciple that nothing would go wrong, yet things had ended like this. He wished he could interrogate each of them on the spot, but for the sake of the greater picture, he could only let it go.

At the back, Xu Xuan's expression remained normal, betraying nothing unusual.

What truly worried him was that while this old Daoist could not calculate that Xu Xuan was responsible, the same might not hold true for the Longevity Monastery's True Person. Looking inward at his Qi Sea, he saw that the blood-colored flower had grown a little more vivid. It swayed gently, all signs of its earlier abnormality gone.

Liu Xiaowen had now withdrawn behind him. His aura was steady, and his cultivation had surpassed its previous level. Once they returned, he could break through to late-stage Fetal Breath.

The affair had ended unpleasantly, and the clans soon took their leave, not daring to linger.

Liu Qiuqi returned with Xu Xuan. The two rode a cloud together, with Liu Xiaowen and Liu Baiyuan seated behind them.

"The Longevity Monastery miscalculated today. They poked out their own eyes. Truly laughable."

After they had traveled some distance, Liu Qiuqi grew lively again and did not forget to mock the people of the Longevity Monastery.

"What exactly did that disciple of the Longevity Monastery encounter? He seemed to have completely lost his mind."

Xu Xuan now wanted only to find out what that insect-gnawing phenomenon and the black qi actually were, so he would at least know where he stood.

"How would I know? I knew the Longevity Monastery had no good intentions, but I never imagined there was such a disaster lurking inside."

"Still, rest easy. They cannot directly interfere in the Plainlands' affairs now, so we need not fear them for the moment. What worries me is that they will settle accounts after autumn."

Looking somewhat troubled, Liu Qiuqi gazed toward the distant Flat Lake and continued quietly:

"Once we return, cultivate diligently and reach Foundation Establishment as soon as possible, lest the disasters of old repeat themselves."

Xu Xuan wanted to ask more, but Liu Qiuqi only said that although the Plainlands and Green Peaks were closely connected, they were different in the end. Reaching Foundation Establishment sooner could never be wrong.

"After all, perhaps just when we finish establishing our foundations and the Plainlands settle down, the Demon Calamity will happen to arrive again?"

Liu Qiuqi's voice was extremely faint, but in Xu Xuan's heart it resounded like a thunderbolt.

The Demon Calamity was coming again?

Many questions filled Xu Xuan's mind. Zhu Yuanyun's words had implied that someone was nurturing promising Foundation Establishment seedlings like them. Who was it?

What exactly had Zuo Mohe meant by "the last time," and what did "leaving us alone" mean?

Why had the previous Demon Calamity happened to leave each clan with its most talented direct-line descendant?

The Longevity Monastery was supposed to govern Red Cloud Commandery. Why had it ignored the lands from Green Peaks to Great Jing year after year?

Yet even if he wanted to get to the bottom of it, the people of the Plainlands kept their mouths shut, as though some difficulty prevented them from speaking. No records had been passed down in the monastery, either. Wen Fufeng seemed to know the inside story, but deliberately withheld it from him.

These questions piled up in his heart. He vaguely felt that he had grasped some crucial point. With just a few more clues, he would be able to glimpse the whole picture.

Within his Qi Sea, the White Jade Ancient Stele rose and fell. Xu Xuan sensed something and felt a strand of pure qi manifest, vaguely taking the shape of a crimson centipede. It seemed about to form four characters in Seal Script, but still fell a little short. Only the first two appeared: [Five Poisons-].

(End of chapter)