An envoy from the Crimson Firmament Sect: on the matter of self-defense and retaliation

He merely announced his name.

The disciple guarding the mountain gate was immediately alarmed.

He hurriedly sent word to the patriarch.

"Patriarch, someone from the Crimson Firmament Sect is here!"

Upon receiving the message, Lu Changfeng immediately stopped cultivating, hurried out of the Lineage's main hall, and personally went to the mountain gate to welcome the visitor.

"Lu Changfeng of the Lu Household greets the envoy of our superior sect!"

"You are too courteous, Patriarch Lu. Zhu Chuanxiong, second elder of the Crimson Firmament Sect, offers his greetings!"

After exchanging greetings, Lu Changfeng welcomed Zhu Chuanxiong into the Lineage's grounds.

The visitor had not immediately demanded an accounting.

That made him a guest.

He had to be treated with courtesy.

For the Lu Household, a Golden Core power was still an existence they had to look up to.

Thus, they had to handle the person sent by the Crimson Firmament Sect with the utmost care.

As for why the sect had dispatched its second elder, that went without saying. It was surely because of the three powers that had been destroyed.

Zhu Chuanxiong said nothing along the way.

His gaze roamed about, scrutinizing every part of the Lu Household.

Lu Changfeng had no idea what was going through his mind.

Only after they entered the reception room in the Lineage's main hall and sat down did they get to the matter at hand.

"What a grand undertaking, Patriarch Lu. Without our Crimson Firmament Sect knowing a thing, you actually wiped out three of our Foundation Establishment subordinate powers in succession."

"Might I ask what you intended?"

The part where he called them to account was naturally unavoidable.

Still, Zhu Chuanxiong's attitude was not particularly bad.

In truth, he was also wondering to himself.

According to what he had learned beforehand, the Blazing Yang Sect, the Divine Fire Gate, and the Zhao Household were all quite strong.

Among Foundation Establishment powers, they could be considered outstanding.

By contrast, the Lu Household did not seem to measure up to any one of them.

So just what had they relied on?

How had the Lu Household easily destroyed all three?

Taking everything into consideration, this Lu Household was not simple.

Zhu Chuanxiong was no fool. He was merely carrying out a sect assignment, so he certainly could not make an enemy of someone powerful for no reason. When it was time to speak civilly, he still had to speak civilly.

Lu Changfeng sighed and replied.

"There is something you do not know, Elder Zhu!"

"In this matter, our Lu Household did not take the initiative to stir up trouble. We were truly only defending ourselves."

Defending themselves?

"Oh?"

"Please enlighten me, Patriarch Lu. What information is there that I do not know?"

"Our Lu Household keeps to its own affairs and never fights with others," Lu Changfeng said, resentment showing in his eyes. "Yet we never expected someone to set their sights on us. That night, twelve black-robed men attacked our Lu Household. Every one of them was in the Foundation Establishment Realm. They..."

"Had our ancestors not once been fortunate enough to obtain a Golden Core means of protecting the Lineage, which killed the attackers, I fear you would never have met this old man, Elder Zhu."

Zhu Chuanxiong was inwardly shaken.

He had never expected this.

There was actually such a hidden story behind the Lu Household's brazen destruction of the Blazing Yang Sect, the Divine Fire Gate, and the Zhao Household.

"So that was what happened. If they truly struck first, then Patriarch Lu cannot be blamed for retaliating. They deserved to be destroyed. However..."

Zhu Chuanxiong changed tack.

"I cannot simply take Patriarch Lu's word for it."

"Have you obtained any evidence that can establish the identities of those twelve black-robed men? Could you entrust it to me to bring back to the sect, both so I can report on my assignment and so we can prove the Lu Household's innocence?"

Evidence.

Lu Changfeng's brows furrowed slightly.

The might unleashed by that enormous thing's explosion had been enough to destroy heaven and earth.

All twelve black-robed men had been reduced to drifting ash. Apart from those three strange mirror fragments, nothing had been left at the scene.

As for the black-robed men's identities...

Lu Chenxing had learned those from the memory images within the fragments.

Thus, to provide evidence, he would still need Little Chenxing's help with a small favor.

Lu Changfeng rose. "Please wait a moment, Elder Zhu. I will fetch the evidence for you."

With that, he headed toward Lu Chenxing's room.

After learning why Lu Changfeng had come, Lu Chenxing immediately took out the mirror fragments, which were just as mysterious to him.

He extended his thoughts into them, hoping to bring up the earlier images.

But after fiddling with them for ages...

There was nothing at all.

Those scenes of Zhao Donglai, Qin Wuxiang, and Li Taichu, the leaders of the three powers, plotting together seemed to have been shown only once.

Lu Chenxing withdrew his thoughts and looked at Lu Changfeng with his large, innocent eyes.

"Grandpa Patriarch, those images only appeared once, right after I got them. Now they won't appear anymore."

If they could find them, perhaps there would be some way to copy and record them.

But...

Alas.

Their most direct evidence was actually gone.

Troublesome.

Lu Changfeng instructed Lu Chenxing to stay in his room and not go outside.

Since there was an outsider present, it was best to avoid letting outsiders notice Lu Chenxing's existence if possible.

That would avoid unnecessary trouble.

"Elder Zhu, the evidence may be gone."

Gone?

"What do you mean, Patriarch Lu? How could it be gone?"

Lu Changfeng wore a helpless expression.

"This is what happened. The means our Lineage used had certain flaws. It blasted all twelve invading Foundation Establishment cultivators to bits, leaving nothing behind except a fragment of a secret treasure."

"It was precisely because some images appeared within that secret treasure fragment that we learned the identities of the attackers."

"The Blazing Yang Sect, the Divine Fire Gate, and the Zhao Household had long been secretly working together. On the surface, they were righteous immortal powers, but in reality, they were demonic-path bandit cultivators. Aside from our Lu Household, quite a few powers had already been brutally exterminated by them, including the Azure Mist Sect, the Fire Cloud Sect, the Ye Household, the Earth River Sect, the Spirit..."

"Elder Zhu, you can trace the matter back through those destroyed powers. You should be able to find some threads and traces."

"Every word I have said is true. I ask the superior sect to judge clearly!"

The Azure Mist Sect, the Fire Cloud Sect, the Ye Household, the Earth River Sect, the Spirit...

Zhu Chuanxiong had heard of all these powers Lu Changfeng mentioned.

Every one of them had been destroyed under inexplicable circumstances.

The Crimson Firmament Sect and the Spirit Charm Sect had investigated in secret for a long time, yet neither had managed to find any trace of the culprits.

He had never expected the Blazing Yang Sect, the Divine Fire Gate, and the Zhao Household to be responsible.

This greatly shocked Zhu Chuanxiong.

However, this was still only Lu Changfeng's side of the story, with no evidence at all to show for it.

"Oh, right!" Lu Changfeng suddenly spoke again.

"Besides the members of our Lu Household, there was another person present that night. He is a top second-tier formation master from the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, invited to our Lu Household to set up a Lineage-protecting formation."

"Although I cannot provide evidence directly establishing the black-robed men's identities, Master Quan Yong'an can attest to the fact that those twelve black-robed cultivators attacked us."

Lu Changfeng paused before continuing.

"There is another point as well. Our Lu Household is not strong. Our Lineage has only three Foundation Establishment cultivators, and I myself only recently broke through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. Why were we able to destroy the Blazing Yang Sect, the Divine Fire Gate, and the Zhao Household?"

"It was because all their elites came out to attack our Lu Household. They never expected us to possess a powerful means passed down by our ancestors and were utterly destroyed. The bases of those three powers simply lacked sufficient defenses, which was why our Lu Household was able to successfully seek justice."

"All these signs can prove that my words are not false. The Lu Household did not launch an unprovoked attack. I ask the superior sect to investigate clearly!"

Lu Changfeng spoke with absolute conviction, his words filled with sincerity.

Because everything had truly happened.

That was simply how it was.

After this exchange, Zhu Chuanxiong believed seventy percent of what he said, with the remaining thirty percent still requiring verification.

"If that is truly the case, then not only is the Lu Household innocent, it has rendered a meritorious service!"

Rooting out demonic-path bandit cultivators hidden among the righteous immortal sects.

Was that not a great achievement?

"We dare not claim credit. The Lu Household acts openly and honorably and asks only for a clear conscience. Sorry to trouble the superior sect with this."

"It is all for the stability of humanity's cultivation world in Heavenly River Commandery. It is our duty." As he spoke, Zhu Chuanxiong stood and took his leave.

"In that case, I will trouble you no further."

"I will return as soon as possible to report and have the sect send people to investigate, so we can clear the Lu Household's name soon and announce it to Heavenly River's cultivation world."

Lu Changfeng hurriedly stepped forward, and a small pouch slipped from his sleeve.

Zhu Chuanxiong caught it firmly and quickly tucked it into his own sleeve.

This was someone else's goodwill, after all.

He naturally had no reason to refuse.

A smile appeared on Zhu Chuanxiong's face. "As long as your conscience is clear, Patriarch Lu, all should be well."

Lu Changfeng suddenly thought of something.

"Oh, right, there is another piece of information I almost forgot."

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Blazing Yang Sect noticed something before our Lu Household arrived, took all the sect's resources, and fled. If you can find him, Elder Zhu, you will certainly be able to verify everything I have said through him."

A Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Blazing Yang Sect. There was still a fish that had slipped through the net.

And this fish actually carried the entire accumulated wealth of a Foundation Establishment Lineage more than two hundred years old.

A fat fish indeed!

A sharp glint inadvertently flashed through Zhu Chuanxiong's eyes.

"Your frankness is admirable, Patriarch Lu. Once this matter is settled, the two of us can meet again and exchange more."

"Farewell!"

Lu Changfeng escorted him all the way outside the mountain gate. Watching Zhu Chuanxiong's figure disappear from view, he let out a breath of relief.

Although Zhu Chuanxiong was merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator like himself...

It was still impossible to say which of them would be stronger in a fight.

Behind him, however, stood the Golden Core power, the Crimson Firmament Sect.

The pressure he brought was simply too great.

Still, the Lu Household walked upright and sat straight, so it had no fear of any questioning.

After the Crimson Firmament Sect investigated, the final conclusion could only be this.

The Lu Household had vanquished demons and defended the Dao. It was an act of justice!

What Lu Changfeng did not know was that after Zhu Chuanxiong sent word back to the Crimson Firmament Sect, a scheme targeting the Lu Household quietly began.

"A Golden Core means capable of reducing twelve Foundation Establishment cultivators to drifting ash. Interesting. This Lu Household is truly interesting."

"Quan Yong'an of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, and that surviving remnant of the Blazing Yang Sect. Perhaps they can be put to use."

"The day when the blood moon hangs in the sky is almost here. It is time to liven up Heavenly River Commandery again..."