Volume 5 Chapter 16

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Volume 5 Chapter 16: Confession

Since Feng Qingtian fled Jiuhua Mountain, nearly causing the death of several elders by poison, about a month has passed, and Jiuhua Mountain has returned from chaos to its usual calm.

Cultivators focus on the pursuit of longevity and often disregard others and the past.

Only Jin Qinghan, who always saw Feng Qingtian as his lifelong rival, felt a sense of loss at Feng Qingtian’s departure. His lifelong goal was to overcome Feng Qingtian, but suddenly, one day, Feng Qingtian was no longer around, leaving Jin Qinghan unaccustomed to the absence of comparison.

Although Feng Qingtian was proud and difficult to get along with, as the top master among Jiuhua’s young generation, he was highly respected among them.

Unexpectedly, the younger generation of Jiuhua cultivators showed no regret for Feng Qingtian’s departure, instead expressing anger at not capturing Feng Qingtian back to Jiuhua Mountain.

Among the Jiuhua disciples, it was believed Feng Qingtian defected because he had badly injured Xu Qingfan in a previous competition and was forced away by him. Xu Qingfan initially worried he would be excluded because of this inexplicable incident, but in fact, his reputation among Jiuhua disciples and the new elders improved.

This occurred partly because Xu Qingfan overlooked that, although Feng Qingtian was highly respected among the young disciples, his overall reputation in Jiuhua Mountain was even higher. In situations of conflict, both the Jiuhua disciples and the new elders naturally sided with Xu Qingfan.

Moreover, the cultivation world ultimately respects strength. While Feng Qingtian was difficult to deal with yet highly respected due to his prowess, he was severely injured even in victory over Xu Qingfan. Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan achieved a breakthrough during their duel, reaching the Real Golden Core Stage. As one rose and the other fell, if they were to compete again, the outcome would be uncertain, inadvertently allowing Xu Qingfan to take Feng Qingtian’s place.

Furthermore, Xu Qingfan’s ordinary talent achieving such success gained him admiration and resonated with cultivators of similar average talent.

The most important thing is that the younger elders believed the tunnel was built by the Feng family, and the elders who nearly died from the poison were mostly from the younger generation, yet they blamed Feng Qingtian for the poisoning. Compared to Xu Qingfan, who saved everyone in a moment of crisis, although the full story was unknown, everyone subconsciously sided with Xu Qingfan.

Thus, even though Xu Qingfan had been in seclusion for years and didn’t even know the names of some new elders, the young elders and disciples naturally regarded him as their leader. The faction led by Xu Qingfan among the younger generation became even more united.

In contrast, Supreme Protector Gongsun Huasa, although frequently seen on Jiuhua Mountain, found that his orders were becoming increasingly ineffective. Not only the younger elders, but even the older ones often refused his commands under the guise of seclusion. As a result, for any action he wanted to take on Jiuhua Mountain, he had to ask Li Yuhan for assistance, equivalent to indirectly seeking help from Xu Qingfan, which made him increasingly frustrated, and gave everyone a gloomy look.

During this month, besides occasionally meditating to stabilize his newly achieved level, Xu Qingfan devoted himself to carefully teaching three disciples the ways of immortality. Whether it was Zhang Ningmei, Bai Yu, or Ting’er, they made impressive progress very quickly.

Although Zhang Ningmei’s talent for cultivation was still unclear, her gift for using the Divine Sense was exceptionally rare. Xu Qingfan taught her the method to condense the Divine Sense for only about seven or eight months, and Zhang Ningmei had already begun to develop it. Xu Qingfan estimated that within less than a year, Zhang Ningmei’s Divine Sense would balance with her body’s energy consumption, and she could officially begin her cultivation journey. Xu Qingfan was full of hope for Zhang Ningmei’s future.

By comparison, although Bai Yu was gifted, his progress was slower. Despite sensing the powerful and wild energy in his bloodline, he still had a long way to go in mastering its use. Of course, this was also because Bai Yu lacked a focused method for training.

By comparison, Xu Qingfan was most concerned about Ting’er, whose progress was so fast that it was only a step away from the Condensed Core Stage. Since being transformed by the demon orb, Ting’er’s body had become quite peculiar, and she was on an unprecedented path of cultivation. As a demon cultivator, she practiced the ways of immortals. What changes might occur once she broke through to the Condensed Core Stage was beyond Xu Qingfan’s imagination.

This was the reason why Xu Qingfan, despite setting five major goals for himself, had not yet committed to long-term seclusion, because he wanted to see Ting’er successfully form her Core with his own eyes to be at ease.

Additionally, during this month, Xu Qingfan frequently recalled the previous scene of Zhang Hualing’s blood-red eyes filled with the desire to kill, which caused a slight chill to rise in his heart each time.

"It seems I must find an opportunity to have a showdown with Zhang Hualing."

Xu Qingfan’s eyes focused on a certain spot on Jiuhua’s front mountain, showing a thoughtful expression as he pondered silently.

※※※※

Late that night, in the dark Jiuhua Secret Library, a sudden light flashed.

Then, a figure quietly walked towards the depths of the Secret Warehouse, ignoring the various treasures on the shelves.

Moments later, the figure arrived before a collection of strange tools and materials, which were the remnants of Zhang Xusheng’s forbidden sorcery research discovered before his defection from Jiuhua. After observing for a long time, the figure sighed softly.

At the same time, another sigh echoed, coming from a nearby corner not far from the figure.

"Sect Master, you couldn’t resist coming here. When I saw the red in your eyes that day, I knew you had hidden motives for bringing Zhang Xusheng’s things back to Jiuhua Mountain. Indeed, I was right. Sect Master, a mistake has been made, and you must not continue down this path."

The voice was filled with regret and sorrow.

Upon hearing these words, the figure momentarily froze, then slowly turned around to look towards the source of the sound. His face revealed him to be none other than the current Sect Master of Jiuhua—Zhang Hualing!

As Zhang Hualing looked over, a figure slowly appeared in the corner from which the voice came. It was Xu Qingfan, though it was unclear how long he had been hidden there.

Seeing Xu Qingfan’s sudden appearance, Zhang Hualing was surprised but not flustered, and there was even a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

After carefully examining Xu Qingfan, Zhang Hualing smiled slightly and asked, "How long have you been waiting here? Surely, you haven’t been waiting around since I moved these items here, have you?"

Xu Qingfan shook his head slightly and replied calmly, "I’m not that foolish, and I know you’re not that impatient. I figured everyone had slowly started to forget about these tools and materials, and your patience probably reached its limit, so I hid here to wait for you. I’m lucky, it’s just the second day."

Zhang Hualing’s eyes showed appreciation as he nodded slightly, then curiously asked, "So how did you hide from my Divine Sense and remain here unnoticed? You only have cultivation at the early stage of the Real Golden Core Stage."

Xu Qingfan took out a thin veil and said softly, "The Jiuhua Secret Library has two magical artifacts that can conceal a cultivator’s presence—one called the ‘Veil of Invisibility’ and the other the ‘Nine Illusions Umbrella.’ I borrowed the ‘Veil of Invisibility’."

Zhang Hualing nodded slightly, then, as if nothing had happened, turned to continue examining the artifacts. His eyes eventually settled on an ancient-looking cup with blood-red patterns, and his eyes showed a hint of thought as he reached out to take it.

Xu Qingfan raised an eyebrow and suddenly moved to stand between Zhang Hualing and the artifacts, stopping Zhang Hualing’s actions.

"Sect Master, while you haven’t completely lost your mind to these dark arts yet, let go."

Xu Qingfan stared intently into Zhang Hualing’s eyes, as if searching for the fleeting blood-red glimmer he had once seen. But Zhang Hualing’s eyes remained clear as they usually were.

Zhang Hualing slowly withdrew his extended hand and softly asked, "So, you already know everything?"

Xu Qingfan nodded and said seriously, "When I received the green slip left by Martial Uncle Liu that recorded Zhang Xusheng’s secret methods, I suspected something was wrong. That green slip had obviously been tampered with, and besides me, the only one aware of its contents was you, Sect Master. Initially, I thought that although you were practicing those dark arts, they hadn’t yet altered your mind. So while I was worried, I did not intervene. But the state you were in that day showed that the resentment of vengeful souls was hiding somewhere within you, ready to change your nature completely. Therefore, I can no longer stand by and do nothing."

Zhang Hualing sighed lightly and said calmly, "Indeed, back then I did secretly learn from the green slip, and now these secret methods unknowingly change my mind."

Zhang Hualing paused, then continued, "Precisely because of this, I must continue researching these secret methods before they change me completely. Only then can I find a way to control them, so I won’t be wholly changed by the resentment."

Hearing Zhang Hualing, Xu Qingfan frowned slightly, about to respond when Zhang Hualing interrupted him, saying, "Do you know? Because I used ‘Substitute for Heaven’ at the cost of my lifespan, I should have died thirty years ago."

"But with Jiuhua and the cultivation world in turmoil again, can I afford to die? What would happen to Jiuhua if I died? Honestly, both Martial Brother Liu and I considered making you Jiuhua’s next sect leader. But unfortunately, there isn’t enough time for you. Right now, you’re still far from being ready, both in experience and mind. That’s why, until you are fully prepared, I have to hold on."

"But with my lifespan nearly depleted, what can I do? I had no choice but to learn those secret methods to defy fate and prolong my life, despite knowing their influence on my mind. I think Martial Brother Liu didn’t hide the secret methods from me because he wanted me to decide for myself."

Xu Qingfan listened quietly to Zhang Hualing’s words, feeling the deep exhaustion within them. After a long time, he finally said, "But you must also know that these secret arts are too dangerous. It will be hard for you to restrain yourself. Although you are still clear-headed now, one day you might lose control of the evilness in your heart. And once your nature changes, the impact will be disastrous for both you and Jiuhua."

After hearing Xu Qingfan’s concern, Zhang Hualing smiled faintly, his expression calm yet resolute, and said slowly, "By then, I think I can still fight the evil in my heart for a while. During that time, you should kill me."

After speaking, Zhang Hualing once again reached out, picked up the ancient cup he had focused on earlier, and slipped it into his sleeve. Then he turned and left quietly, while Xu Qingfan did not stop him this time, merely watching Zhang Hualing’s retreating figure with a complex expression in his eyes.

After Xu Qingfan followed Zhang Hualing and left, a figure suddenly appeared in a corner not far away. It was Jiuhua’s Supreme Protector, Gongsun Huasa, holding an umbrella-shaped artifact, which was another Jiuhua artifact that could cloak one’s presence—the "Nine Illusions Umbrella." His eyes showed a thoughtful look, and after a long time, he let out a cold laugh before quickly departing.