Volume 5 Chapter 109
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Volume 5 Chapter 109: Suspicion in My Heart, the Dark Valley (Part 1)
After discussing with Zhang Hualing, Xu Qingfan returned to his residence where he had been living for the past few years.
It was also a courtyard arranged by the Righteous Alliance, though it was smaller than Zhang Hualing’s courtyard. Like Zhang Hualing, Xu Qingfan did not like strangers entering his space, so he refused the low-level cultivator assigned to help him by the Righteous Alliance. However, his courtyard was always tidy, thanks to Zhang Ningmei coming to clean it often.
Over the years, Zhang Ningmei has taken care of the injured Little Black and Ting’er, while also looking after the troublemaking Bai Yu and Little Green. She often cleans Xu Qingfan’s yard, and according to Zhang Ningmei, she has read almost half of Xu Qingfan’s collection of books. Before coming to ‘Ronghua Mountain,’ she had only read one-third. Plus, she is frequently pulled away by Mr. Liu for tea and chess. Time is tight, yet Zhang Ningmei has managed to maintain her own training. It is hard to figure out how that girl organizes her time.
Shaking his head, Xu Qingfan entered the room, sat by the bed, and closed his eyes to rest. He was about to go out on a mission. His earlier encounter with the mysterious strong man had drained a lot of his Spirit Qi, and even his meridians were injured. Xu Qingfan needed to recover quickly.
After taking a few pills to help restore his energy and heal, his eyes closed. When he opened them again, seven days had passed, and someone was waiting outside.
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Interrupting his quiet meditation made Xu Qingfan a bit unhappy. He sensed his body and found that his Spirit Qi had recovered to about eighty percent, and the cracks in his meridians were healed. He pushed down his irritation and stepped outside, opening the yard door.
Outside the door stood three monks, with the lead monk, whose face was like dried wood, being the leader of the "Mercy Cloud Temple" team, Master Bo Guangyan.
"Venerable Diyang, all the sect leaders wish to speak with you."
Master Bo Guangyan said to Xu Qingfan with a respectful bow.
Xu Qingfan knew that the sect leaders were here to assign him a task, and judging by Bo Guangyan’s expression, it seemed he already knew the details of the mission.
After Xu Qingfan bowed in return, he followed Master Bo Guangyan as they exchanged polite words, walking towards the great hall halfway up the mountain.
Although Master Bo Guangyan’s face looked as dry as old wood, he enjoyed discussing scriptures and philosophy during his free time and was good at talking. So, as they chatted, it was not boring at all.
New talents arise in every generation, each shining for hundreds of years.
Over the years, due to the great disaster, the Righteous Alliance has seen the emergence of many outstanding young disciples. These young disciples, though they have been cultivating for less than two hundred years, have already reached the Fake Golden Core Stage or even higher. They are exceptionally talented and handle matters with great skill, taking on important roles within their sect at a young age.
Among these young disciples, Xu Qingfan, Hua Xian from Qingxu Gate, and the present Bo Guangyan stand out as representatives.
Master Bo Guangyan, though looking old and quite advanced in age, is of the same generation as Xu Qingfan. He is considered a second-generation disciple of the Mercy Cloud Temple, ranking just below the grandmaster. Before joining the Righteous Alliance, he seldom had a notable reputation. It is said that the reason Master Bo Guangyan is a second-generation disciple is because his uncle is a first-generation disciple of the Mercy Cloud Temple. Not wanting to be on the same level as his elders, he became his uncle’s student, even though he actually entered the sect earlier than many first-generation disciples. His skills have long surpassed those of his elder.
In the world, there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. Although there are many outstanding young cultivators in the Righteous Alliance, each with their unique advantages, there are always some bored people ranking these young disciples from first to third.
Among them, Hua Xian is recognized as the top young disciple, being the only golden core cultivator of his generation. Although Xu Qingfan is very popular, he is slightly behind in skills. As for Jin Qinghan, in recent years he has played a supportive role. Although his skills are higher than Xu Qingfan’s, he lets Xu Qingfan take the spotlight, and few people in the Righteous Alliance know about him.
This Master Bo Guangyan is said to practice the most challenging and obscure "Floating Mysterious Heart Sutra" of the Mercy Cloud Temple. Unless one is a Mahayana Stage grandmaster, no one can see through his abilities. Yet, over the years, the small team from Mercy Cloud Temple, led by Master Bo Guangyan, has only faced one defeat, second only to the Jiuhua Team led by Xu Qingfan.
The only defeat came from the two masters of "Eight Wilderness Hall" and more than ten Evil Immortal Flying Generals. However, even though they lost, thanks to Master Bo Guangyan personally covering their retreat, the "Mercy Cloud Temple" team managed to escape unharmed. This shows how powerful Master Bo Guangyan is.
Judging by the ability of each team leader to carry out their tasks, Hua Xian, the top young disciple, turned out to be the worst.
"With Master Bo Guangyan accompanying us, this mission should go smoothly."
While Xu Qingfan listened to Master Bo Guangyan’s insightful words filled with wisdom, he thought quietly to himself.
Seeing that Xu Qingfan seemed a little distracted, Master Bo Guangyan asked, "Does Venerable Diyang have any concerns?"
Xu Qingfan smiled and said, "I was just curious why it is the Master who came to find me. For something like this, one or two envoys could have easily been arranged."
Master Bo Guangyan smiled slightly, but his face, much like dry wood, appeared sincere yet forced. However, he did not mind this and explained calmly, "My courtyard is closer to the mountainside, so the envoy came to my place first to inform me before notifying Venerable One. I thought since we will be working together for a while and have had little contact before, I should take the initiative to inform Venerable One to get to know each other better."
"I see," Xu Qingfan replied with a smile, but deep down he knew that there have been many conflicting rumors about him over the years, especially the shocking tales of the sacrifice of the "Xingyin Sect" team and the alleged killing of his elder. Master Bo Guangyan’s visit, under the guise of getting acquainted, was likely a way to test the waters because of these rumors.
Otherwise, why would he bring up so many profound and philosophical remarks about simple gossip?
Although he understood Master Bo Guangyan’s intention, he did not feel very angry. In a disaster, every action faced life and death. Worrying about the schemes of his own people was too troublesome. Master Bo Guangyan did this for the lives of his followers and the task of the Righteous Alliance.
"What does the Master think about this mission?"
Although Master Bo Guangyan had doubts about him, Xu Qingfan did not plan to explain. Even if he did, Master Bo Guangyan would not believe him. It was better to reassure him through actions in the future. So, Xu Qingfan said little and asked about the strange aspects of the mission.
Master Bo Guangyan knew that Xu Qingfan was asking why that valley, which was once a base for the "Beast Madness cultivator" created by "Ying," was abandoned, and why the Beast Madness cultivators gathered there without leaving. This was also something he had been thinking about these past few days.
"Suspicious, there is something hidden, but it’s not a big deal," Master Bo Guangyan replied after a moment of thought.
This meant that although the valley was mysterious, he and Xu Qingfan just needed to complete the task assigned to them by the Righteous Alliance. They didn’t need to worry about the valley’s mysteries; as long as they did not go deep into the valley, they would be fine. This was also why the Righteous Alliance trusted them with the mission; there were countless mysterious matters in the disaster, and they couldn’t investigate them all one by one.
Xu Qingfan nodded; Master Bo Guangyan’s thoughts matched his own.
Yet, for some reason, the more he thought about the doubts, the more uneasy he felt inside.
Deep down, Xu Qingfan sensed that this mission might not be that simple.
While they were talking, everyone had already arrived in front of the grand hall where the sect leaders were.
Xu Qingfan and Master Bo Guangyan had already learned the details of this mission from their respective mentors; receiving the task from the sect leaders was just a formality. After about the time it takes to burn two sticks of incense, Xu Qingfan and Master Bo Guangyan came out of the grand hall.
According to the arrangements of the masters, two teams were to depart within two days.
After exchanging some polite words with Bo Guangyan and the others, Xu Qingfan took his leave to inform the members of each team about the mission.
Watching Xu Qingfan’s figure gradually disappear, an old monk behind Bo Guangyan said, "This Venerable Diyang, judging from our recent conversation, does not seem to be a selfish person."
Bo Guangyan replied calmly, "Rumors in the world are often false; most are untrue. However, as the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Even if rumors are exaggerated, something must have caused them, so we should be cautious."
Before they knew it, two days had passed. In these two days, news had come from some wandering cultivators in the prosperous southern Middle-earth that high-level demon beasts were appearing there. However, the Southern Wasteland was desolate and dangerous, and having demon beasts flee there was not unusual; thus, it did not attract much attention from the Righteous Alliance.
On this day, Xu Qingfan’s team and the "Mercy Cloud Temple" team were set to depart, with their destination being a hidden and unknown small valley in the northern prosperous Middle-earth.
