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Tang Wanqiu wasn"t some kind of rich young lady who had never left her house. Even before the Lecture Hall was opened this time, she had spent many years all by herself in the outside world, so she had heard everything about Bai Ji"s unsightly deeds — this old man"s sect was skilled in the art of beast-taming. Added with those great loaches that they were raising, they had practically become something of a local tyrant in the western area. The indecent old man had taken countless beautiful female cultivators as wives and produced tens of sons and daughters.

But there was a saying, ‘Quality is more important than quant.i.ty". Among Bai Ji"s many sons and daughters, none of them had managed to be successful. If they hadn"t pa.s.sed away in an accident, their cultivation wasn"t good enough, so they"d exhausted their life force. None of them had lived as long as their father, who was practically a turtle at this point. All these years, he had never tried to speak in support of anyone in public.

Now he was crying for his grandson, as if his worries were genuine!

If he couldn"t even count on the eyeb.a.l.l.s, would he count on the eye sockets?

Tang Wanqiu was angry for many reasons. She was about to fire at Bai Ji verbally, but the Island Lord waved his hand to stop her.

The Island Lord spoke up, elegant and courteous, “This member of my sect is still young, so her words might be insolent. Palace Master, you"re a person of great stature, so please don"t be offended by this junior. In my opinion, searching for your grandson should be our priority now. Everyone who has entered the Lecture Hall this time would have their names recorded in the book, so your grandson truly has not entered the Lecture Hall. It isn"t impossible that he had been intrigued for some time, but later decided that the cultivation method of our island is unworthy, so he"d left by himself — but since he had come here, someone must have seen him before. Palace Master Bai, if you have your grandson"s portrait, I could send the disciples to ask around the island for you.”

After hearing those words, Yan Zhengming couldn"t help admiring the Island Lord"s magnanimity. He wasn"t a very good sect leader, so he was often unable to deal with issues appropriately, causing him to always regret his own actions afterward. While pressing Cheng Qian"s wrist, he listened to the exchange and offhandedly told Cheng Qian, “If someone had stirred up trouble at the back of our mountain, I most definitely wouldn"t try to reason with them and would immediately beat them away, never mind helping them find a person.”

Cheng Qian didn"t seem to have noticed the self-reflection and disapproval in Yan Zhengming"s tone, and simply said in accordance, “They deserve it.”

Yan Zhengming glared at him. They regularly build upon their cores to train their meridians, so they were a bit familiar with pulse conditions. He had sensed from Cheng Qian"s pulse that other than the outer wounds on his body, he had also suffered some unknown internal injuries. Yan Zhengming was so angry that he mercilessly smacked Cheng Qian"s back, snapping, “Why aren"t you regulating your breathing, where do you find so much nonsense to spout?”

Cheng Qian, “…”

Where was his conscience? Cheng Qian had only said three words in total.

But before he could argue, a stream of warmth had flowed into him from Yan Zhengming"s hand on his back, spreading to his limbs, gently circulating in his body. Cheng Qian couldn"t help his eyes drooping, but he still had a juvenile"s mentality, so he didn"t want to admit that his Eldest Shixiong"s care was very comforting, and only murmured, “Meddlesome.”

Despite saying that, he finally loosened his fingers around Shuangren, focused on gathering himself, and silently recited the Scriptures on Clarity and Stillness.

It is said that one must never hit a smiling person. Against a smiling person of the Island Lord"s level, regardless of whether Bai Ji was truly worried for his grandson or if he had ulterior motives, he couldn"t possibly act too forceful after hearing those words, so his bl.u.s.ter faltered as he said with reluctant politeness, “Yes. I also ask of the Island Lord to pardon my slight. This old one"s sons and daughters have all pa.s.sed, leaving only this inept grandson behind, I truly…”

The Island Lord shook his head with that gloomy smile of his and said generously, “It is a natural human behavior. Please allow us to see your grandson"s portrait so the disciples can ask around. Palace Master Bai might as well stay on the island for now. We are just about to hold a compet.i.tion to test the disciples" skill, if Palace Master Bai is willing to give some pointers, it would be a great fortune for them.”

Let"s not mention Bai Ji"s status as the honorable Master of Xixing Palace. Even a stubborn, troublesome donkey would have yielded to the Island Lord"s words by this point.

Bai Ji lowered his head, eyes turning quickly. Because he had involuntarily been carried away by the Island Lord"s words, he couldn"t help panicking slightly — Palace Master Bai was a person of great stature. The reason he had crossed such a great distance to come to the East Sea was most definitely not that grandson of his, whose name he could hardly recall.

Cheng Qian"s eyes were closed as he regulated his breathing, but he"d heard everything from the beginning to the end. He was the type who always considered the worst possibilities. This time, he"d contemplated everything carefully and thought, It definitely won"t be solved so easily. If that were the case, why did the Island Lord send us to leave the moment there was an uproar on the island?

What did the Island Lord know? And who was that shady Zhou Hanzheng supposed to be? Were the masked men all his people? Why didn"t the Island Lord find an excuse to get rid of that Zhou Hanzheng earlier?

Also, why did Tang Wanqiu warn them to never mention Fuyao Sect?

And why was Xueqing…

The moment Cheng Qian thought of Xueqing, his heart fell into turmoil. Yan Zhengming, who was helping him regulate his breathing, immediately noticed. Seeing his face suddenly turn pale with cold sweat dripping down his temples, Yan Zhengming became worried that there was something odd with those internal wounds. He immediately lost his ability to keep a straight face and pulled Cheng Qian into his arms, speaking in a low voice, “Xiao-Qian, what is it?”

Cheng Qian was experiencing great pain, but he instinctively knew that this wasn"t a good time to talk about their sect affairs. He forcefully swallowed his words and whispered, “I"ll tell you when we go back.”

Under the Island Lord"s persuasion, Bai Ji couldn"t find any other way out of the situation, so he pointed at the sky. A cloud of faint white smoke flew out from his fingertips, followed by the faint figure of a young man appearing in the air. The young man"s face was blurry as it floated in the air, his eyes growing and shrinking inconsistently. In any case, it didn"t look very much like a person. It was clear that Bai Ji probably couldn"t even recall his "beloved grandson""s face anymore.

Bai Ji"s face seemed a bit unpleasant as he forcefully said, “This is my grandson. If any of you have ever seen him, please inform me.”

The Island Lord looked at Tang Wanqiu. Tang Wanqiu studied the young man for a moment and shook her head gravely.

The Island Lord said, “Alright. Tomorrow, we will show Bai Daoyou"s portrait next to the platform. Be it the disciples or the rogue cultivators of the Lecture Hall, if anyone has seen him, they will naturally speak up. It"s quite late now, we should invite the guests to retire for the night.”

Seeing that Xixing Palace"s attack had been turned into a misfire, the disciples began to put away their weapons.

But right then, a strange development suddenly occurred.

The figure of a person abruptly burst out of the crowd, throwing himself straight at Bai Ji, but was thrown back by Bai Ji"s aura of a formidable master. The back of that person"s body crashed into a large tree. That person wasn"t wearing the white robes of Azure Dragon Island"s disciples, so he was most probably a rogue cultivator. His cultivation also wasn"t very good, because the impact had wounded him greatly. Using all four of his limbs, he crawled toward Bai Ji, leaving trails of blood on the ground, yelling, “Palace Master, help! Palace Master Bai, I, I know the young master!”

The moment these words were spoken, everyone became startled. Looking at the portrait that Bai Ji had produced, even his own mother might not be able to recognize him, much less a completely unrelated person.

Bai Ji was only using his missing grandson as an excuse, so he was also shocked by these words. He immediately withdrew his pressuring aura and instructed his personal attendant to help the rogue cultivator up. He also stepped forward, feigning joyful surprise as he caught the rogue cultivator"s shoulder, “You, what did you say? You"ve seen Yanli before?”

Under everyone"s watchful eyes, the rogue cultivator disregarded the saying ‘there is gold under a man"s knees" — he fell to his knees and wept, “Bai-xiong [1] has been killed, I"m definitely going to be next!”

The knit between the Island Lord"s brows deepened. He came forward to speak, “What is your name? Are you also a cultivator in the Lecture Hall? Don"t push yourself to speak, I"ll have somebody treat your wounds first.”

Before the Island Lord could finish his words, the rogue cultivator was struck with such fear that it seemed like his soul was about to leave his body. The rogue cultivator hurried to crawl behind Bai Ji, repeatedly saying, “Palace Master, help.”

His att.i.tude was practically treating the Island Lord like an extremely dangerous beast.

Bai Ji didn"t understand the reason for this, but he could faintly sense something going on, so he took advantage of it and said loudly, “What is it, speak up.”

The rogue cultivator was shaking so much he could hardly stand. Only after hiding among a circle of Xixing Palace"s disciples did he finally speak, voice trembling, “We"d found that on this island, someone was practicing the Ghostism path of demonic cultivation, and was targeting us rogue cultivators who have no backing. Bai-xiong had told me in secret that he was going to investigate this, and then report to the Island Lord. But in the end… he was devoured by the demonic cultivator"s Soul-Consuming Lamp.”

Without outstanding cultivation and willpower, how could an ordinary soul last in the lamp? Also, once the soul had been smelted, it would lose the ability to reincarnate, its three immortal souls and seven mortal souls forever becoming another person"s puppet. It couldn"t even join the cycle of rebirth, and could only await the day it was reduced to dust. Hearing this, Bai Ji finally felt some faint feeling of blood relation and became stunned.

Amid the crowd"s shock, Tang Wanqiu had exclaimed before anyone else, “Who is the demonic cultivator you speak of?”

Her booming voice seemed like it could split rocks and shock the heavens. The rogue cultivator screamed and fell on his rear in fright, almost toppling over entirely. He sc.r.a.ped the ground repeatedly and said, words muddled, “Don"t kill me, Island Lord, don"t kill me… Palace Master Bai, help me!”

These words held so much implied meanings that even Tang Wanqiu had understood. Her eyes immediately sharpened, “You"re saying that the Island Lord is the demonic cultivator who takes people"s souls? What absolute nonsense!”

But other than her, n.o.body could be so certain. Before the disciples could do anything, the rogue cultivators had lost their minds. Weren"t demonic cultivators supposed to look ghastly and gloomy? Now that they thought about it, the Island Lord"s haggard and gloomy look really did… No wonder he was always in seclusion!

Also, when the Celestial Market was just opened, didn"t they come across a great demonic cultivator on their way across the East Sea?

Even among demonic cultivators, pract.i.tioners of Ghostism were extremely rare. In one thousand and eight hundred years, you might never meet even one of them. So how could there be such a coincidence, that they"d come across one on their way to the Celestial Market?

Since he had appeared nearby, that great demonic cultivator might have been acquainted with some formidable master on the island. He could even be the apparition of a formidable master.

Tang Wanqiu was driven to the end of her patience and said, “You bunch of good-for-nothings, who do you think you are? Even if the Island Lord were to take souls for his cultivation, would he use small fries like you? Wouldn"t it be better for him to take me?”

When these words were spoken, the clamor among the crowd instantly went down. Tang Wanqiu"s words made sense — with the Island Lord"s ability, capturing a cultivator of primordial spirit level would be an easy task, there was no need for him to use a bunch of rogue cultivators whose levels were so low that they couldn"t even enter a sect.

Tang Wanqiu was bad with words, but that didn"t mean her head was bad. She immediately pressed on, “That brat, do you dare to report your name? Who do you think you are, what proof do you have to say that there is a demonic cultivator on this island? The Lecture Hall opens once in ten days, the fellow cultivators have certainly become familiar with each other. If one of you had vanished suddenly, would n.o.body notice? Who sent you here to slander our Island Lord? Speak!”

Among the listeners, the sharper ones had already noticed the hint of a hidden scheme.

Cheng Qian had a bad feeling, so he immediately cut off all intrusive thoughts and made use of the time to regulate his breathing. He paid no heed to the uproar around him and immediately fell into meditation. Yan Zhengming could only stand guard silently to protect him.

As long as Cheng Qian wasn"t hurt, and wasn"t bleeding, Yan Zhengming looked at his Shidi"s blood-stained face, which was so pale that it seemed more jade-like than usual, and couldn"t help feeling as if Cheng Qian was made of steel.

The rogue cultivator cried while hiding away, “My cultivation is so insignificant I"m practically an ant, if I had any other choice, how could I dare to frame the Lord of Azure Dragon Island? Don"t I care about my own life? You"re all great people, you can easily name your status and have good backing, people would be outraged if any of you went missing. But we"re all just rogue cultivators with no backing, would anyone care about us?”

Tang Wanqiu looked like she wanted to pick up her sword and stab him into a beehive right there and then, “Pooh, that"s just a one-sided statement, do you have any proof?”

The rogue cultivator said, “Of course we do. Bai-xiong said that on one occasion, he had seen the figure of a refined spirit near the Island Lord"s place of seclusion, there must be a Soul-Consuming Lamp there!”

The crowd immediately blew up.

This kind of thing was simply unheard of, and this proof was useless even if he"d stated it.

Regardless of whether or not there was a Soul-Consuming Lamp, the Lord of Azure Dragon Island would never allow anyone to search the mountain dwelling where he cultivated in seclusion.

He was the Leader of the Four Saints, the Greatest Master Under the Heavens!

Even if Bai Ji was out of his mind, he wouldn"t dare to suggest searching the Island Lord"s mountain dwelling, wasn"t that preposterous?

Right then, a bright voice spoke in a lively tone, “This fellow cultivator is speaking a lot of nonsense, could it be that you"re encouraging everyone on Azure Dragon Island to rebel?”

Everyone turned around and saw Zhou Hanzheng approaching with the raven-like masked men trailing behind him. The masked men"s forms weren"t very clear when they were flying on their swords, but now that they were walking on the ground, it was easier to see — the group of men were very strict and rigid, all of them possessing similar figure and features.

While Yan Zhengming was watching from the sidelines, he suddenly recalled that back then on the Lecture Hall, Zhou Hanzheng had encouraged Cheng Qian to ‘train under his tutelage" — Yan Zhengming couldn"t help wondering, which sect did this Zhou person come from, what kind of past did he have?

The moment Zhou Hanzheng raised his hand, all of the masked men behind him halted their steps at the same time. None of them took a single extra step.

He unfolded his fan and moved it in front of his chest, “This humble person has received the Island Lord"s grace and become a Protector on this island for years, so I must speak for our Island Lord"s innocence now — in order to identify a demonic cultivator who practices Ghostism, you don"t need to see their Soul-Consuming Lamp yourself. Those who tread the path of Ghostism will have their souls corrupted. We only need a Soul Mirror to immediately get our answer. Our Island Lord"s light is brilliantly dazzling, how could he have anything to do with those diabolical practices?”

Bai Ji looked at Zhou Hanzheng uncertainly, unable to grasp his intention. When the odd rogue cultivator first appeared, he had already sensed another influential power on this island, so he spoke carefully, “In my knowledge, only one Soul Mirror exists under the heavens, and it"s kept in the main hall of the Imperial Palace. Are you suggesting that we should all barge into the Imperial Palace?”

Zhou Hanzheng smiled, “Palace Master Bai has been out of touch with the affairs of the world for a long time — in the reign of the previous emperor, the Soul Mirror had been bestowed to the Office of Heavenly Affairs. This is quite a coincidence. Because of that encounter with the great demonic cultivator on the sea before the last Celestial Market, I"ve been carrying the mirror on my person just in case.”

These words were just like water being poured into boiling oil, that even Tang Wanqiu was stunned, “What, you"re from the Office of Heavenly Affairs?”

The Island Lord made no sound. He must have figured out part of it earlier in the secret port, when Zhou Hanzheng was turning on him. But he was good at hiding his thoughts, so the juniors couldn"t tell.

The Office of Heavenly Affairs was under the jurisdiction of the Board of Astronomy. It was an ent.i.ty in the mortal imperial court that was supposed to manage ‘cultivators", but in reality, it didn"t seem like they could manage anyone. It should make sense that there must be cultivators in the Office of Heavenly Affairs, but in most people"s hearts, those still felt like the affairs of two different worlds.

Many people have never seen any personnel of the Office of Heavenly Affairs in the flesh, even until the day they pa.s.sed or ascended.

Zhou Hanzheng said, unconcerned, “Oh, it"s just an off-handed position. I am a man with no sect or backing to my name, I am no match for everyone here who has powerful backgrounds. I only a.s.sumed some empty t.i.tle to make a living.”

The rogue cultivator hiding behind Xixing Palace cupped his hand with his other in obeisance to Zhou Hanzheng, his form quite pitiful, “The Left Protector is upright and just. If he, too, is unable to tell the good from bad, this junior will accept his fate.”

The rogue cultivator painstakingly straightened his back, his words surprisingly bearing some air of solemn heroicness. Zhou Hanzheng gave him a glance and said nothing as he raised his hand. A masked man immediately came forward, presenting a small package. Inside it was a simple copper mirror, its corners worn, its surface slightly muddy.

Zhou Hanzheng made a seal with his hand and said, “Rise.”

The copper mirror rose into the air, slowly turned around once, and stopped right above his head. The mirror seemed to have produced a ray of light, which fell on the crown of his head, reflecting Zhou Hanzheng"s tall, slender figure.

It was no different from a normal reflection.

Zhou Hanzheng lowered his head for a quick glance and smiled, “It would seem that this humble person"s three immortal souls are whole, and my seven mortal souls are also safe and sound. There is no problem with me.”

Yan Zhengming"s heart was racing. He didn"t know what kind of part Zhou Hanzheng played in this scheme, but he knew that right now, even though Zhou Hanzheng outwardly seemed to be helping Azure Dragon Island, he was actually causing them harm in secret.

There were many different paths in demonic cultivation. The path of Ghostism in particular was extremely malicious, the most despicable of the most despicable, would the Island Lord subject himself to that?

If this had happened in the past, Yan Zhengming wouldn"t have believed it even if he were beaten to death. But ever since the rogue cultivator made his accusation, Yan Zhengming realized that the Island Lord hadn"t said a single word, so he couldn"t help feeling anxious.

When he first met Jiang Peng, he was still very young, so his impression of that time was bone-deep. Even now, he was still deeply disgusted by everyone who practiced Ghostism. The Island Lord had protected their sect for so long, if he really were…

Yan Zhengming turned to look at the Island Lord. For a moment, he didn"t know what he was supposed to do.

He then looked at Cheng Qian, who didn"t seem to have heard any of the happenings around him, his focus impregnable. Yan Zhengming couldn"t help admiring him in secret.

The Island Lord said nothing for a while. The crowd around him had started discussing among themselves. Yan Zhengming looked at the Soul Mirror, which seemed as if it had penetrated through time to appear in the present, and suddenly thought — Wen Ya Zhenren said that in each generation of Fuyao Sect, one evildoer was bound to appear. What if in their generation, too, someone were to be led astray?

This thought only crossed his mind briefly, but it had struck Yan Zhengming"s heart, causing him to feel as if something was lodged in his throat. His gaze swept toward Li Yun, Han Yuan, and Shuikeng. Li Yun was smart and cautious — so cautious, in fact, that he was a bit cowardly. He didn"t seem like the type to overstep the norms. Han Yuan"s commitment toward cultivation couldn"t compare to his enthusiasm toward digging up dirt on everyone around them. Shuikeng… ah, even though she was still very young, she had already shown signs of being a nitwit.

At last, he involuntarily turned to Cheng Qian.

Bloodstains marred Cheng Qian"s face, but he looked extremely tranquil in his meditation.

Yan Zhengming only considered this possibility briefly, but his heart seemed to have been seized without mercy. He stared at Cheng Qian blankly for a long time. And then he, the least steadfast sect leader in history, silently thought to himself, What use is it to think about this? Even if Xiao-Qian were to really come to that point, I will never act against him. If worse comes to worst, I"ll hide him away.

[1] ‘Bai-xiong" The phrase used here is 「白兄」. 兄 (xiong) usually means ‘elder brother; elder male relative of the same generation", but it can also be used as a courteous form of address between male friends, which is somewhat similar to 哥 (ge). The difference between using ‘-ge" and ‘-xiong" is, ‘-ge" is a friendly term of address for older male acquaintances, so it is specifically used for older friends, while ‘-xiong" does not address the difference in seniority.

In conclusion: Two male friends can use ‘-xiong" for each other, but if person A uses ‘-ge" for person B, person B can"t use ‘-ge" for person A (unless they"re teasing and being playful with each other, I guess).

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