Volume 2 Chapter 16
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Volume 2 Chapter 16: Decision
After telling Xu Xiurong about the "Nine Demon Bead," Xu Qingfan respectfully bowed to Bao Wei, saying, "What I’ve said may still have errors. Please offer your guidance, Elder."
As for Xu Xiurong’s admiring gaze, it went unnoticed by the oblivious Xu Qingfan.
After listening to Xu Qingfan’s explanation, admiration grew in Bao Wei’s eyes, and he nodded approvingly, "You’ve covered everything thoroughly, even I don’t know more than you. Martial Brother Lu has someone to follow in his footsteps."
"You praise me too much, elder," Xu Qingfan replied humbly.
"Martial uncle, since we know that the trouble in the Southern Wasteland is caused by the ‘Nine Demon Bead’, shouldn’t we return to Middle-earth to report it to our sect?" Lv Ziqing suddenly asked.
Hearing Lv Ziqing’s question, Bao Wei pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "The reappearance of the ‘Nine Demon Bead’ is indeed significant, but our main purpose here is to find traces of your missing five junior brothers. I think we should continue exploring the Southern Wasteland, firstly to keep searching for them, and secondly to understand the situation here better. The ‘Nine Demon Bead’ being behind this is just our speculation. However, I fear those junior brothers may already…"
At this point, Bao Wei stopped speaking and did not continue.
Hearing Bao Wei’s words, Lv Ziqing and others showed sadness on their faces, and Xu Xiurong’s eyes were full of sorrow. Although Bao Wei had stopped speaking halfway, everyone understood what he meant. Considering the strength of the lower-level demon beasts and the endless mutated beasts in the Southern Wasteland, the chances of the five disciples sent by Qingxu Gate for training surviving now seem slim. They didn’t want to speak aloud these grim suspicions without confirmation.
"We respectfully follow your command, martial uncle," Lv Ziqing and the others replied in unison, bowing, despite their dark expressions after hearing Bao Wei’s words.
After hearing their response, Bao Wei nodded slightly and then asked Xu Qingfan, "Nephew Xu, where do you plan to go next?"
Xu Qingfan thought for a moment and then said, "I still have some worldly ties in the Southern Wasteland that need resolving. I came here to settle them so I can focus on my cultivation at the sect later. However, with the current unrest in the Southern Wasteland, I can’t remain unaffected, and the emergence of the ‘Nine Demon Bead’ is a major event in the cultivation world. So, I’ve decided to stay with you, elder and Senior Brother Lv, to investigate the specific situation of the Southern Wasteland’s changes, so I can report back to the elders of the sect truthfully in the future."
"The young man truly understands the bigger picture," praised Bao Wei, as a look of admiration flashed across his face once more.
"You flatter me," Xu Qingfan replied somewhat awkwardly.
In truth, Xu Qingfan decided to join Bao Wei and the others for several reasons. He wanted to explore the details of the changes in the Southern Wasteland to report back to his sect. Moreover, facing the emergence of the ‘Nine Demon Bead,’ which could threaten the safety of the entire Immortal Realm, Xu Qingfan indeed wanted to do his part. However, he also had a personal motive. He knew that the Southern Wasteland was filled with danger, far more than before, and it was too risky to act alone. If he joined Bao Wei and the others, especially with a powerful expert like Bao Wei at the Golden Core Stage, his safety would greatly increase. Otherwise, if Xu Qingfan encountered a mutated beast swarm alone again, whether he could handle it was still uncertain.
"However, I do have some objections to the decision, sir," Xu Qingfan suddenly said after humbling himself.
Lv Ziqing and the others were shocked by Xu Qingfan’s words, as Bao Wei was notoriously domineering and strict with junior disciples in Qingxu Gate. Except for juniors like Xu Xiurong, whom he favored, he rarely showed kindness to others and never tolerated questioning his decisions, especially from a junior disciple he had assigned.
Just as Lv Ziqing and the others expected Bao Wei to burst into anger, he simply asked with surprise, "What suggestions do you have, Mr. Xu?"
Seeing Bao Wei’s gentle demeanor as he asked the question, everyone in Qingxu Gate was dumbfounded, amazed by his response. They didn’t realize that, although Bao Wei was stern with his own disciples, he was courteous to disciples from other sects. Xu Qingfan, being the disciple of an old acquaintance and having left a good impression, was treated differently.
"What I mean, sir, is that we can split into two groups. You lead some of us to investigate the Southern Wasteland changes, while sending your Martial Sister Xu back to Middle-earth to inform the major sects of the developments. After all, whether it’s demon cultivators or the emergence of the ‘Nine Demon Bead,’ these are significant events that Middle-earth should be aware of promptly."
Xu Qingfan’s words carried an underlying implication. Although Xu Xiurong was competent, being in the late stage of the Inedia Stage, her overly soft personality was a concern. Her presence in the perilous Southern Wasteland would likely not be of much help and could even hold the group back, necessitating care. It was better to send her to Middle-earth with the pretext of delivering the message.
The disciple agreed with Senior Brother Xu’s opinion, saying that splitting into two groups would both investigate the changes in the Southern Wasteland and ensure news could be reported back to the sect without delay, achieving both goals without any hindrance. As Lv Ziqing turned this over in his mind, he understood Xu Qingfan’s plan. Previously, he felt deep guilt for not protecting Xu Xiurong, and now naturally wished for Xu Xiurong to be as far from danger as possible.
Seeing Lv Ziqing’s expression, Shang Nianyao and Hou Wanjun also understood Xu Qingfan’s intent and nodded in agreement beside him.
Seeing everyone in agreement, Bao Wei hesitated. He understood Xu Qingfan’s intention, knowing that Xu Xiurong’s nature was ill-suited for the treacherous environment of the Southern Wasteland. However, Bao Wei was also uneasy about letting Xu Xiurong journey alone back to Qingxu Gate to deliver the message. Xu Xiurong had never left Qingxu Gate alone before. Letting her return alone was concerning, as she might not find the right path back, and any unforeseen circumstances would be troubling. Bao Wei had watched Xu Xiurong grow up, treating her like his granddaughter and doting on her dearly, hesitant to let her face any danger.
"Uncle Bao, I think there’s little value in me going back to report."
Just as Bao Wei was indecisive, the usually silent Xu Xiurong spoke up in opposition. Though her character was gentle and indecisive, she was not foolish. Having reached the late stage of the Inedia Stage at her age, she was quite perceptive. Usually, her overly soft character kept her from showing it. Everyone agreed she should return to Qingxu Gate with the message, and she knew why. Normally, given her nature, even if she was unwilling in her heart, she would not voice disagreement. But today’s situation was different; for some reason, she did not want Xu Qingfan to look down on her. So when she saw everyone agreeing for her to report back, she spoke against it without thinking.
"Oh? Why do you think it’s of little value?" Bao Wei asked with slight surprise upon seeing Xu Xiurong’s unusual behavior.
With everyone’s surprised eyes turning toward her, Xu Xiurong blushed again, but she gathered her thoughts and forced herself to remain calm, saying, "Although Martial Uncle wants to investigate the changes in the Southern Wasteland, it likely won’t take too long, right?"
After nodding, Bao Wei said, "After all, such a significant event as the Southern Wasteland change shouldn’t be delayed. I’ve decided that in seven days, whether we find the missing disciples or not and regardless of whether we discover the details of the changes, we must return to report this to the major sects in Middle-earth and discuss countermeasures."
Hearing Bao Wei’s words, Xu Xiurong continued, "Although I have flying artifacts, my skills are lacking, and it will take me at least ten days to return to the sect. But even though you’ll return after seven days, your advanced skills mean it will take just two days to return with us. This way, you’ll get back before me, so what would be the point of my returning early?"
As she spoke, Xu Xiurong sneaked a glance at Xu Qingfan and, seeing the look of surprise on his face upon hearing her words, a trace of pride and secret delight welled up in her heart.
Hearing Xu Xiurong’s words, Bao Wei was full of amazement. He hadn’t expected that the usually shy and gentle Xu Xiurong would have such a clever mind. In truth, he didn’t want Xu Xiurong to leave his side, and despite the dangers of the Southern Wasteland, he felt it was safer for her to stay with him than to return alone to Qingxu Gate. So he nodded and said, "If that’s the case, then you should join everyone in taking action together."
Seeing his suggestion rejected by Bao Wei, Xu Qingfan smiled lightly, without taking it to heart, and just shook his head slightly in his mind. In fact, Xu Xiurong had subtly twisted Xu Qingfan’s words; Xu Qingfan meant for Xu Xiurong to return to Middle-earth to report to the Cultivation World, but she had turned it into returning to Qingxu Gate to report. It should be noted that although it would take Xu Xiurong over ten days to reach Qingxu Gate, it would only take two days to reach the nearest Immortal Holy Land to the Southern Wasteland-"Penance Valley." At that time, the elders of Penance Valley would naturally have ways to quickly inform the entire Cultivation World of the unusual events in the Southern Wasteland.
However, Xu Qingfan was aware that Bao Wei, with his experience, would certainly understand this. Seeing Bao Wei agree to let Xu Xiurong join the group, Xu Qingfan realized Bao Wei had made up his mind and it would not be appropriate to argue further. He simply felt that Bao Wei was too indulgent with Xu Xiurong, in stark contrast to his strictness with Lv Ziqing and Shang Nianyao. Such indulgence could be harmful to Xu Xiurong’s future development, as cultivating immortality is also about cultivating the mind. Without a firm and stable mindset, how can one endure the long journey of immortality? But as an outsider, Xu Qingfan had no place to say more and could only remain silent.
Meanwhile, Xu Xiurong, secretly pleased with her success in being cunning for the first time, was unaware that Bao Wei and Xu Qingfan had already seen through her little scheme. They simply chose not to expose it for their own reasons.
Although Lv Ziqing still didn’t want Xu Xiurong to join this adventure, since Bao Wei had already made the decision, he dared not object. Xu Qingfan was greatly admired by Bao Wei and was his disciple from the past, while Xu Xiurong was deeply cherished by Bao Wei. Others might dare to oppose Bao Wei, but Lv Ziqing did not. So he merely asked, "But martial uncle, the Southern Wasteland is said to have endless mountains, stretching boundlessly. Where should we start our search?"
Upon hearing Lv Ziqing’s words, Bao Wei couldn’t help but ponder.
Xu Qingfan, after thinking for a moment, said, "Perhaps we should search towards the southwest."
"Oh? Why do you say that?" Bao Wei asked curiously.
"I arrived at the Southern Wasteland a few days earlier than my seniors and have a better understanding of the current situation. From my observations during these days, I’ve discovered that the closer you get to the southwest of the Southern Wasteland, the denser the distribution of mutated beasts and plants. Therefore, I boldly speculate that the person who obtained the magic pearl is likely causing trouble in the southwest." Despite his confidence in his judgment, Xu Qingfan showed no arrogance on his face, and cautiously said.
Hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Bao Wei pondered for a moment, then decisively said, "Alright, let’s start our search from the southwest direction!"
After speaking, Bao Wei wasted no time, conjuring up a cloud to step on and leading the way southwest over the Southern Wasteland. As everyone used their magical artifacts to follow Bao Wei, the Southern Wasteland returned to its usual quiet state, with the wind whispering and the sunset painting the scene, leaving only the remains to silently tell the story of what had happened there.
