Volume 4 Chapter 79

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Volume 4 Chapter 79: Right and Wrong

Once upon a time, Deng Tianao plotted against Xu Qingfan’s led Jiuhua Mountain, but Xu Qingfan saw through his secret practice of dark arts called "Purple Womb Car." Back then, Chou Xuan had his suspicions. Although Deng Tianao later explained that while he practiced "Purple Womb Car," he never harmed anyone, using pregnant sheep for the technique instead of human wombs, Chou Xuan was still skeptical. Eventually, he reported this secretly to their master, Taoist Jiuze, the leader of the "Liuhe Gate" sect at the time.

Upon hearing Chou Xuan’s report, Taoist Jiuze was greatly alarmed and advised Chou Xuan to investigate quietly.

Through Chou Xuan’s secret investigation, he discovered that over the years, pregnant women frequently disappeared near "Liuhe Gate." This went unnoticed because it was a worldly matter, and the cultivators of "Liuhe Gate" paid little attention. However, this alone wasn’t enough to prove Deng Tianao’s guilt. After the Newcomer Comparison, Deng Tianao mostly remained secluded within "Liuhe Gate," occasionally descending the mountain on behalf of "Liuhe Gate" to negotiate with the allied "Eight Wilderness Hall," without any known wrongdoing.

Neither Taoist Jiuze nor Chou Xuan expected that around that time, Deng Tianao somehow discovered their suspicions. He reached an agreement with the "Eight Wilderness Hall" and, through unknown means, gained the support of several highly respected elders within "Liuhe Gate."

One day, Deng Tianao suddenly and secretly left the mountain, drawing the attention of Taoist Jiuze and Chou Xuan. Because this could involve an unprecedented scandal in the history of "Liuhe Gate," they didn’t inform other elders but followed Deng Tianao down the mountain alone. They believed that with their strength, if Deng Tianao indeed intended harm, capturing him would be easy.

Indeed, after Deng Tianao descended the mountain, he used his abilities to infiltrate a household in the mundane world, attempting to cruelly harm a pregnant woman. Taoist Jiuze and Chou Xuan intervened and captured Deng Tianao, intending to bring him back for questioning.

But at that moment, an unexpected event occurred.

Elders from "Liuhe Gate," excluding those close to Taoist Jiuze, suddenly appeared. Just as Taoist Jiuze and Chou Xuan thought they had also discovered Deng Tianao’s actions, these elders launched a surprise attack against them. Caught off guard, Taoist Jiuze and Chou Xuan were severely injured and captured by these elders.

When Taoist Jiuze angrily demanded to know why, the elders of Liuhe all wore cold smiles. The most powerful elder, Immortal Jiuguang, who rarely left seclusion, slowly revealed the reason to them.

A few days ago, Deng Tianao suddenly went to the elders crying, claiming that he had accidentally discovered that Taoist Jiuze favored Chou Xuan and wanted to set him up to lose his position as the heir to the sect leader, replacing him with Chou Xuan. Initially, the elders of Liuhe didn’t believe Taoist Jiuze would do such a thing, but they noted that Taoist Jiuze had been rather cold towards Deng Tianao recently and often had secret meetings with Chou Xuan. Deng Tianao’s expression didn’t look fake, making them doubtful.

At this moment, Deng Tianao proposed that Taoist Jiuze and Chou Xuan’s plan to frame him would happen in the next few days and asked the elders to closely observe and support him when needed. Reluctantly, the elders of Liuhe agreed.

That night, the elders suddenly discovered Taoist Jiuze and Chou Xuan secretly capturing Deng Tianao and taking him away from the "Liuhe Gate." The elders silently followed them, confident that Immortal Jiuguang’s stronger power and high-level hidden artifacts would prevent Taoist Jiuze from noticing their pursuit.

The elders observed Taoist Jiuze and Chou Xuan splitting up, with Taoist Jiuze taking Deng Tianao to a hidden place while Chou Xuan sneaked into a household with a pregnant woman, and then joined Taoist Jiuze. The elders overheard Taoist Jiuze demanding that Deng Tianao confess to practicing the evil art "Purple Womb Car."

Assuming the worst, the elders of Liuhe took Taoist Jiuze’s words as forced confession, immediately appeared, and captured him.

Hearing Immortal Jiuguang speak, both Taoist Jiuze and Chou Xuan realized they had been betrayed by Deng Tianao, feeling shocked and angered but unable to prove anything at that moment.

When the two revealed Deng Tianao’s secret practice of the evil art "Purple Womb Car" to the elders, Deng Tianao willingly asked them to examine his body since cultivating the "Purple Womb Car" would show signs of purple energy in the dantian. However, after Elder Jiuguang’s examination, Deng Tianao indeed had not practiced the "Purple Womb Car."

At this point, Taoist Jiuze and Chou Xuan found themselves unable to defend against the accusations.

Nonetheless, Taoist Jiuze, known as the sect leader of "Liuhe Gate" and a prominent figure for hundreds of years in the cultivation world, forcibly broke free from Immortal Jiuguang’s restraints, escaping with Chou Xuan. Aware that he could not defend himself under the present circumstances, he decided to flee the elders’ control to investigate and eventually prove his innocence.

The elders of Liuhe clearly didn’t expect Taoist Jiuze to break free from the restrictions of Immortal Jiuguang, and were caught off guard, allowing Taoist Jiuze to escape smoothly.

But shortly after Taoist Jiuze and Chou Xuan fled the encirclement of the Liuhe elders, they encountered another group of cultivators, who turned out to be Man Tian and others from the "Eight Wilderness Hall." It was then that Taoist Jiuze and Chou Xuan realized Deng Tianao had not only contacted Jiuguang and the Liuhe elders but had also made some sort of agreement with the "Eight Wilderness Hall." Taoist Jiuze, having used a great deal of his Spirit Qi to escape Jiuguang’s restriction, was quickly captured by Man Tian and his group. Before being caught, Taoist Jiuze helped Chou Xuan escape. From then on, Chou Xuan lived a life on the run from "Eight Wilderness Hall" and "Liuhe Gate," until meeting Xu Qingfan, while Taoist Jiuze’s whereabouts remained unknown.

After hearing Chou Xuan recount his experiences over the years, Xu Qingfan furrowed his brow slightly and asked, "So, are you saying all of this was Deng Tianao’s conspiracy?"

Chou Xuan nodded lightly and said, "I’ve pondered over it for years and realized that Liuhe must have fallen for Deng Tianao’s bait and switch. According to Jiuguang, just before my master and I caught Deng Tianao secretly leaving the ‘Liuhe Gate,’ the elders discovered we had captured Deng Tianao and taken him outside of Liuhe. That time difference was enough for many things to happen."

Xu Qingfan nodded in agreement and said slowly, "So, you’re saying the Taoist Jiuze, you, and Deng Tianao discovered by the elders of Liuhe were impersonators? But how did these three manage to hide after leading the elders to your location?"

Chou Xuan smiled wryly and said, "I’ve thought about that too. At that time, Deng Tianao had captured a pregnant woman and taken her to an abandoned temple. It was there that my master and I caught him, and it was there that we were later captured by the elders. Looking back, that temple must have had hidden mechanisms."

Xu Qingfan asked, "Did you ever go back to investigate that abandoned temple later?"

Chou Xuan’s smile grew more bitter as he said, "Of course I did, but when I went to investigate, I found the temple had been destroyed, reportedly due to the chaos of war, and during my investigation, I was almost ambushed by people arranged by Deng Tianao."

Hearing this, Xu Qingfan sighed softly, unsure of what to say next, as this scheme truly seemed unsolvable, at least for now.

After pondering for a moment, Xu Qingfan’s eyes suddenly brightened. He looked up at Chou Xuan and said, "Immortal Jiuguang."

Chou Xuan nodded slightly and said slowly, "Taoist Friend Xu, you also thought of it."

Xu Qingfan nodded and said, "This plan must be controlled from beginning to end. To achieve this, there must be an insider among the elders of Liuhe. Otherwise, when the disguised Taoist Jiuze and your friend capture the fake Deng Tianao, there might be elders who can’t resist stepping in, and at that time, someone must stop them. The most suitable person for this is Immortal Jiuguang, who has the highest reputation in ‘Liuhe Gate.’ Moreover, it is almost certain that Deng Tianao has practiced the ‘Purple Womb Car,’ and the reason the elders believe otherwise is due to Immortal Jiuguang’s testimony. Thinking about it, Elder Jiuguang becomes very suspicious."

Although he guessed some of the plan, Xu Qingfan became increasingly pessimistic about Chou Xuan’s future. Knowing that Immortal Jiuguang, as the top expert of "Liuhe Gate," holds more prestige than Taoist Jiuze did as a sect leader, proving to the elders that everything is a scheme by him seems almost impossible.

Chou Xuan seemed to have thought of this as well, showing a faint expression of sadness on his face.

Seeing the look of disappointment on Chou Xuan’s face, Xu Qingfan also felt downhearted and asked, "So, Taoist Friend Chou, do you have any plan ahead?"

Chou Xuan replied sadly, "I wish to save, but I am powerless."

Naturally, Xu Qingfan did not believe Chou Xuan’s words. Since Chou Xuan has the great determination to abandon the six senses and practice the "Great Method of Heaven and Earth," how could he be someone who gives up easily? But even if he has any plan, he would not reveal it to outsiders so easily.

It’s even possible that Chou Xuan shared his experiences with Xu Qingfan mainly because he wants Xu Qingfan to spread his version of the change in Liuhe to the cultivation world to lay the groundwork for his future plans.

Although Xu Qingfan felt a bit uncomfortable with Chou Xuan’s secrecy, he could understand it. After all, Chou Xuan’s plans concerned his future life and weren’t something he could easily share with others. Xu Qingfan, in the end, was just an acquaintance to him.

Xu Qingfan thought that if he were in Chou Xuan’s place, he might do the same thing.

Xu Qingfan initially planned to help Chou Xuan in exchange for Chou Xuan persuading Bai Lianye to hand over the Bai family’s descendant to Xu Qingfan. However, upon learning of Chou Xuan’s situation, Xu Qingfan realized that this matter was beyond someone of his level to meddle in. Although he wanted to help Chou Xuan, the danger involved was too great. It even involved the "Liuhe Gate," a new Holy Land, and the "Eight Wilderness Hall," a faction currently prominent in the cultivation world. A slight misstep could lead to death without a burial place, and even Jiuhua Mountain could be implicated. So, after a slight hesitation, Xu Qingfan clasped his hands towards Chou Xuan and said, "I trust you, Taoist Friend Chou. Rest assured, I will relay the details of this matter to the elders upon returning to the mountain. We will find a way to support you and uphold justice in the cultivation world."

The underlying meaning of this sentence was that he could not help for the time being, and it was uncertain if Jiuhua Mountain could assist. He was just doing his best, and he would spread the details in the cultivation world as Chou Xuan hoped. But from here on, Chou Xuan would have to rely on his own luck.

Chou Xuan naturally understood the meaning behind Xu Qingfan’s words but didn’t mind. After all, this matter was extremely significant, so he simply clasped his hands towards Xu Qingfan and said, "Thank you, Taoist Friend Xu, I am deeply grateful."

After a brief pause, Chou Xuan’s face returned to its usual calm and gentle smile, and he asked, "Now that we’ve finished with my matters, I still don’t know why you’ve come to the general’s palace this time, Taoist Friend Xu?"

Hearing Chou Xuan’s question, Xu Qingfan hesitated slightly, then explained that he had come with the intention of taking Bai Lianye’s descendant as a disciple. However, he omitted the detail about the Bai family descendant possessing a rare bloodline, simply praising their exceptional talent.

After considering Xu Qingfan’s explanation for a moment, Chou Xuan said, "Taoist Friend Xu, I can help with this matter."

Hearing Chou Xuan’s words, Xu Qingfan’s heart was filled with joy. He had been troubled about how to accept the Bai family descendant as a disciple. If he stated it outright, Bai Lianye would refuse, but if he secretly took the Bai family descendant away, Bai Lianye might replicate the tragedy of his father’s past when a city was slaughtered in a day. This was not what Xu Qingfan wanted. If Chou Xuan was willing to help, it would solve the issue perfectly.

Just before Xu Qingfan could express his gratitude, Chou Xuan said, "I do have one matter, I wonder if Taoist Friend Xu could help? Of course, if Taoist Friend Xu can’t help, I’ll also do my best to assist with the apprenticeship matter."

Meanwhile, a few hundred miles away from the general’s palace, a group of cultivators was swiftly heading in its direction. If Xu Qingfan and Chou Xuan saw them, they would be very surprised because leading this group was Deng Tianao, known as the top young master of "Eight Wilderness Hall" from the Newcomer Competition, whom they had briefly met before, Huang Xie!