Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 119

Volume 6 Chapter 119: Protection

"My sect leader was actually killed by that traitor Xu Qingfan!"

As Gongsun Huasa’s words fell, everyone was shocked!

Xu Qingfan is a hero of the Righteous Alliance. Although he became well-known due to chance and Zizhen’s promotion, Xu Qingfan has indeed saved thousands of lives of Righteous Alliance cultivators. Over the years, he has accomplished many great things for the Righteous Alliance. It is no exaggeration to say that more than half of the over four thousand Condensed Core Stage experts have benefited from Xu Qingfan’s kindness, and many of them admire him, with quite a few cultivators even worshipping him.

It can even be said that, in terms of influence, Xu Qingfan is almost equal to Zizhen and a few other masters in the Righteous Alliance.

Because of this, no one believes Gongsun Huasa’s words. As soon as he finished speaking, some cultivators led by Wang Zegang could no longer care about each other’s feelings and began to shout and curse.

"Nonsense! Taoist Friend Xu is modest and fair, full of righteousness, how could he kill Senior Zhang Hualing?"

"Yes, Taoist Friend Xu is the next sect leader of Jiuhua. Why would he kill Senior Zhang Hualing?"

"This guy, don’t just make baseless accusations!"

…

Watching the crowd’s anger, with some people ready to confront them, Gongsun Huasa and the others couldn’t help but change their expressions, their eyes constantly flickering. They did not expect Xu Qingfan’s influence to be this great.

However, Gongsun Huasa is quite a character. Faced with the agitated crowd, he reacted quickly. Standing up and turning to the approaching cultivators with a pained and angry expression, he said, "Now that things have come to this point, would I speak carelessly? Xu Qingfan is our Jiuhua’s Deacon Elder and the future sect leader. If we did not have solid evidence, would we mention this at all? You should know this is not something honorable for our Jiuhua."

Next to Gongsun Huasa, an old man had a stern expression. A hint of pride flickered in his eyes. The elder Jiuhua, who Xu Qingfan had killed, was his own younger brother. He had endured for many years, but now it was finally time for revenge.

Seeing that everyone still looked doubtful after Gongsun Huasa’s words, the old man said coldly, "We have the tears of the ‘Tear Shadow Bug’ here. Whether we are lying or not, everyone can see for themselves."

If Zhang Hualing could see this scene, he would surely be extremely angry again. He and Xu Qingfan had tried every possible way and endured endless pain just to protect the Jiuhua family’s reputation. But now, Gongsun Huasa and the others, seeking revenge for Xu Qingfan’s power struggles over the years, were easily revealing Jiuhua’s secrets without caring about the harm to its future and reputation. Different hearts lead to different actions, and their futures would not be the same.

After hearing the old man’s words, everyone turned their eyes to the pearl in Immortal Zizhen’s hand, waiting for Immortal Zizhen to reveal what had happened at "Ronghua Mountain."

However, Immortal Zizhen hesitated. Gongsun Huasa and the others were very sure, and even if the images in the pearl were revealed, the news would probably still benefit Gongsun Huasa. But Xu Qingfan had done many good deeds for the Qingxu family over the years, and Immortal Zizhen had always worried that Xu Qingfan would overshadow the young experts of Qingxu. He did not want to destroy Xu Qingfan.

Just then, Mr. Liu, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

Coldly staring at Gongsun Huasa and the others, he asked slowly, "Before we check the scenes inside the ‘Shadow Tear,’ Taoist friend Gongsun, I have a question in my heart. Please answer me."

Gongsun Huasa was slightly stunned by Mr. Liu’s sudden question, but it was well-known that Mr. Liu valued Xu Qingfan. It was not surprising that he would stand up for Xu Qingfan at this time. Therefore, the look of panic in Gongsun Huasa’s eyes only flashed for a moment, and he bowed to reply, "Mr. Liu, you are a senior. Please feel free to ask your questions."

A cold smile crossed Mr. Liu’s lips as he asked, "As for whether Xu Qingfan killed Zhang Hualing, let’s set that aside for now. But why does Taoist friend Gongsun seem to know beforehand to leave the male ‘Tear Shadow Bug’ at Ronghua Mountain while keeping the female bug with you at all times to check? It gives me the feeling that you all had a plan from the start. Please explain."

As Mr. Liu spoke, everyone’s attention suddenly turned to Gongsun Huasa, their eyes filled with doubt.

Gongsun Huasa’s expression changed; he couldn’t tell Mr. Liu that he had overheard the agreement between Xu Qingfan and Zhang Hualing a long time ago. All the patience he had shown over the years was to have this day, to drive Xu Qingfan out of Jiuhua, so he kept the "Shadow Tear Worm" by his side to keep an eye on things.

However, Gongsun Huasa reacted very quickly, and his face turned angry in an instant. He said with a resentful tone, "I believe senior also knows about the Jiuhua disaster from years ago. After that catastrophe, Jiuhua was left seriously weakened and had to close the mountain to recover. But in fact, very few people know that Martial Brother Zhang Hualing was also badly injured during that disaster and was at risk of dying. At that moment, Xu Qingfan offered a cultivation method to sect leader brother, claiming it could heal him. Ever since sect leader practiced that method, his personality changed; he not only supported Xu Qingfan as Deacon Elder against everyone’s opinion but also became reclusive, giving all power in Jiuhua to Xu Qingfan. Since then, I felt something was wrong. Recently, sect leader hinted to me to watch out for Xu Qingfan, saying he was no longer willing to be Deacon Elder. I also worried about sect leader’s condition, so I left the public Shadow Tear Worm near him, just in case. It seems heaven has opened my eyes, and I finally see Xu Qingfan’s true ambitions."

This statement, part true and part false, turned Zhang Hualing’s secret cultivation into something Xu Qingfan provided, pushing all the blame onto Xu Qingfan. With the events that had happened, it was hard to refute.

In fact, based on Gongsun Huasa’s words, even if everyone returned to "Ronghua Mountain" to investigate, Gongsun Huasa could still shift all the blame onto Xu Qingfan and claim Zhang Hualing’s massacre of cultivators at Ronghua Mountain was due to Xu Qingfan’s control.

Hearing Gongsun Huasa say this, Mr. Liu’s eyes flashed with anger, yet the reasoning was so well-constructed that it was hard to argue against, even for someone like him who knew the truth.

At that moment, his relationship with Xu Qingfan became a chain that bound him in defending Xu Qingfan. Even if he shared what he knew with everyone, he would first be seen as intentionally lying for Xu Qingfan, and Gongsun Huasa could spin everything Mr. Liu knew into Xu Qingfan’s tricks and deceit.

"Clap, clap…"

Just then, Zhang Xusheng, who had been watching the drama with a smile, suddenly started clapping, a mysterious smile on his lips.

After being laughed at by Zhang Xusheng, Immortal Zizhen showed a trace of anger in his eyes, but since he was currently working with Zhang Xusheng, he held back his fury and turned to Zhang Xusheng, asking, "Taoist Friend Zhang, may I ask for your opinion?"

Zhang Xusheng shook his head and laughed, saying, "It’s nothing, I just didn’t expect that the cause of this matter was because of my attack on Jiuhua long ago."

After a pause, Zhang Xusheng glanced mockingly at Gongsun Huasa and continued, "What interests me more is Xu Qingfan. If I remember correctly, Xu Qingfan was only a beginner at cultivating for less than sixty years and was at the Lingji Stage, right? A low-level cultivator who has never seen much of the world or experienced any storms actually dared to scheme against a Holy Land of cultivation. What’s more, he almost succeeded. Back when I rebelled against Jiuhua, I had already reached a higher level and almost got killed by my senior brother Li Xuhan later. Compared to a talent like Xu Qingfan, I truly am lacking. I think that since the Shenzhou Continent appeared, such a wicked genius has never existed before. Faced with such an unprecedented evil genius, I can’t help but want to talk late into the night with him, and out of admiration, I couldn’t help but clap. I hope Taoist Friend Zizhen won’t mind."

As expected of Zhang Xusheng, even though Gongsun Huasa’s lie had no flaws, he spotted something wrong right away.

To think that when he was just a Lingji Stage cultivator, he was already planning to control a Holy Land like Jiuhua? That ambition and cunning are really unusual, aren’t they? He is even better than Zhang Xusheng, but can such a person really exist?

Indeed, after hearing Zhang Xusheng’s words, the others looked at Gongsun Huasa with increasing suspicion. Honestly, many in the Righteous Alliance were willing to believe that Xu Qingfan was such an evil person.

Mr. Liu looked at Zhang Xusheng in surprise, not understanding why Zhang Xusheng seemed to defend Xu Qingfan. Noticing Mr. Liu’s gaze, Zhang Xusheng smiled and nodded, his smile quite mysterious.

Gongsun Huasa didn’t expect that his years of planning had such flaws; a trace of panic flashed in his eyes as he hurriedly said, "This proves even more that Xu Qingfan is a person with wicked ambitions. Seniors, if you don’t believe me, just look at the scene inside the ‘Shadow Tear’; that can’t be fake, right?"

Upon hearing Gongsun Huasa say this, Mr. Liu frowned slightly.

Yes, as long as the "Shadow Tear" exists, if the scene inside is truly as Gongsun Huasa described, then Xu Qingfan really cannot explain himself.

"Wait a moment."

At that moment, Zhang Xusheng spoke again.