Volume 5 Chapter 74
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Volume 5 Chapter 74: The So-Called Reputation, the So-Called Righteousness
Noticing Jiang Tao blocking his way, as if preventing him from escaping, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but frown.
He understood the thoughts of Hu Guangshan and Jiang Tao. They had been fighting against cultivators infected with ‘Beast Madness’ for days and deeply felt the harm and terror of it. They absolutely did not want ‘Beast Madness’ to be brought to the outside world after their desperate efforts to stop it.
Earlier, Hu Guangshan had said that in battles with cultivators infected by "Beast Madness," he lost one junior brother and eleven disciples. Xu Qingfan thought that among the deceased cultivators, many must have been put in danger after coming into contact with the blood of "Beast Madness" or being bitten by it, forcing Hu Guangshan to kill them himself. Hence, Xu Qingfan understood very well how deeply Hu Guangshan and others despised "Beast Madness."
However, Li Liming should not have coldly uttered those threatening words, and Jiang Tao should not have flanked Xu Qingfan with a threatening posture. If they had spoken nicely, Xu Qingfan, for the sake of the safety and fairness in the cultivation world, would have had no choice but to go with them to "Ronghua Mountain" and be observed for a few days. Though it would be unfair, he would have had to accept it. But with such words and actions, Xu Qingfan simply could not follow them.
This does not mean that Xu Qingfan is someone who can only be bullied. In fact, Xu Qingfan has always been strong-willed and does things based on his heart. The two acted this way, especially since Xu Qingfan had clarified that he was representing Jiuhua Mountain on this trip. If he followed them to "Ronghua Mountain" under their threats, it would not only make him appear weak and easy to bully but would also greatly damage Jiuhua Mountain’s reputation, which had stood for over two thousand years.
In Xu Qingfan’s view, sometimes it is not worth fighting for pride, but when it involves the reputation of a sect that has lasted for thousands of years, especially when Jiuhua has just emerged and needs to restore its prestige, he could not compromise, especially when he had been designated as the Master of Jiuhua but there were still doubts in people’s hearts.
Moreover, Jiuhua Mountain was about to join the Righteous Alliance and could not let other factions in the alliance look down on them.
Many times, people are helpless over matters that they do not fully understand but are very important to others. These things could be called righteousness or reputation.
Therefore, upon sensing Jiang Tao blocking his retreat, Xu Qingfan’s smile gradually disappeared, and his expression turned cold. He looked at Hu Guangshan in front of him and said softly, "Didn’t the Taoist friend say just now that you were very confident in my cultivation and character? How is it that just after a few words, that confidence has vanished?"
Hearing Xu Qingfan’s sarcasm, Hu Guangshan couldn’t help but bitterly smile. He had been prepared to persuade Xu Qingfan using slogans about the safety and unity of the cultivation world, but before he could speak, his two junior brothers acted first. Hu Guangshan understood that after these days fighting against cultivators infected with "Beast Madness," his junior brothers’ hatred for "Beast Madness" had made them even more impatient. However, he was still angry at their actions, which essentially forced Xu Qingfan to resist.
Although he wanted to ease the situation, Hu Guangshan felt that speaking more about the righteousness of the cultivation world would seem quite hypocritical under the current circumstances. So, he decided not to say more and simply smiled bitterly at Xu Qingfan, saying, "My thoughts have not changed. The few Condensed Core Stage cultivators among the ‘Beast Madness’ are no match for you, Taoist Friend Xu, so I feel very assured about you. But the three disciples under you do not possess such high skills and could unknowingly fall victim to ‘Beast Madness.’ Therefore, I can only ask you all to observe for a while at ‘Ronghua Mountain.’"
"Please? Is that how you ask?"
Xu Qingfan glanced at Jiang Tao behind him, who seemed ready to act at any moment, and scoffed.
After sneering, Xu Qingfan turned and stared at Hu Guangshan in front of him, speaking clearly, "But this time I come down from Jiuhua representing myself. I can only go alone to ‘Ronghua Mountain’ to meet the seniors there, and I cannot be pushed up the mountain by all of you. I will explain this matter only once. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
After a pause, Xu Qingfan said, "When I passed through that desolate chaotic land with my three disciples, although we traveled thousands of miles, we did not meet those cultivators infected by ‘Beast Madness’ for over a thousand miles. In the end, I encountered only around sixty or seventy ‘Beast Madness’ cultivators, but those cultivators were no higher than Lingji Stage. Knowing they were infected by ‘Beast Madness’ and aware of its danger, I used magical tools to protect two of my less skilled disciples, and only fought against that group of ‘Beast Madness’ cultivators with my disciple Ting’er, who has reached the Condensed Core Stage. Throughout this process I observed closely, and my three disciples and I were definitely not harmed by any ‘Beast Madness’ cultivators, nor touched by their blood. So my disciples and I cannot be infected by ‘Beast Madness’. That is all I have to say; it is up to you if you choose to believe it."
Hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Jiang Tao coldly snorted, "These words are just what you say; no one can prove if they are true. Moreover, according to our understanding, in that area plagued by ‘Beast Madness’, there are at least four to five thousand ‘Beast Madness’ cultivators. How can we believe you encountered only a small group while crossing it?"
Xu Qingfan replied calmly, "That is your problem, not mine."
Hu Guangshan sighed and advised, "Friend Xu, it’s better for you and your esteemed disciple to come with us to ‘Ronghua Mountain’. Don’t worry, we are just passing by this time, and we have no intention of escorting you."
"Is that so?" Xu Qingfan glanced at Li Liming and Jiang Tao, seeing the sincerity on Hu Guangshan’s face that seemed genuine. He felt slightly moved and said, "This time I absolutely cannot go to ‘Ronghua Mountain’ with you. People can be frightening; I believe this friend Hu should understand that. However, I promise that after I take my disciples to see their home, I will immediately hurry to ‘Ronghua Mountain’."
"Friend Xu, at this moment, you have no choice." As he spoke, Li Liming had already begun to gather Spirit Qi within him.
Although Li Liming spoke little and had an old and calm face, he was actually very impatient with Jiang Tao. It seemed that Hu Guangshan had put in a lot of effort to keep an eye on these two.
Xu Qingfan suddenly smiled slightly and said slowly, "Whether it happens or not depends on strength."
While he spoke, Little Black, who was standing on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder, suddenly turned to look at Jiang Tao behind Xu Qingfan. In that moment, the gap on Little Black’s forehead suddenly opened, glowing dark red, and transformed into a third eye, known as the "Eye of the Death God." This made Jiang Tao glance over.
Locking eyes, Jiang Tao suddenly felt a huge loss of energy within him and was greatly shocked. He quickly tried to use Spirit Qi to stop it. But at that moment, Xu Qingfan suddenly began to move, quickly fleeing into the distance with three disciples. In order to stabilize his energy, Jiang Tao could not pay attention to Xu Qingfan and the others who brushed past him.
Seeing Xu Qingfan about to escape, Hu Guangshan and Li Liming were both very surprised and immediately prepared to chase after him. But then, a wave of energy suddenly appeared in front of them, and a dark shadow appeared, attacking them with countless flames, ice, rocks, and golden light. Caught off guard, the two hurriedly dodged and tried to get around, but the shadow was extremely fast, blocking their way until Xu Qingfan vanished completely from Hu Guangshan’s Divine Sense range, and then the shadow finally disappeared.
Before it disappeared, Hu Guangshan finally saw the shadow’s face, and it looked exactly like Xu Qingfan!
"At the invitation of Taoist friend, I will definitely visit ‘Ronghua Mountain’ within seven days to meet you, esteemed seniors. No need to see me off, dear friends."
Then, a set of polite words slowly came forth, giving face to both sides. Xu Qingfan was not forced by Hu Guangshan and others to go to Ronghua Mountain, and he promised to arrive at ‘Ronghua Mountain’ at the time they expected. This left Hu Guangshan and the others with nothing to say.
※※※※
After leaving Hu Guangshan and the others, Xu Qingfan remembered a part of the story Hu Guangshan had told him about the disaster that came before.
Soon after Xu Qingfan returned to Jiuhua Mountain, both good and evil forces began searching for a famous rogue cultivator named Xu Fan in the Southern Wasteland, leading to several fierce battles in that area.
But the rogue cultivator Xu Fan was actually a name Xu Qingfan had used during his travels near Jiuhua Mountain a few years ago.
Although he did not know why both sides were looking for him, Xu Qingfan found it even stranger that, while the evil cultivators were unaware of his true identity, the leader of the Righteous Alliance, Immortal Zizhen, knew that the Southern Wasteland rogue cultivator Xu Fan was actually Xu Qingfan, the Deacon Elder from Jiuhua Mountain. If that was the case, why were they still pretending to search for him in the Southern Wasteland and waging war against the evil cultivators, resulting in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of cultivators?
However, after considering the earlier events, Xu Qingfan understood that Immortal Zizhen knew his true identity but would never reveal it. Just as Immortal Zizhen had previously asked him to promise, the respected elder of Qingxu Gate was Xu Fan, the rogue cultivator of the Southern Wasteland, not Jiuhua Mountain’s Xu Qingfan.
This was because Xu Qingfan had once saved Qingxu Gate from destruction and had preached for all the cultivators of Qingxu Gate, meaning Xu Qingfan had to be seen as Xu Fan, the Southern Wasteland rogue cultivator in this matter.
The rogue cultivator from the Southern Wasteland could save Qingxu Gate because it was blessed, but if Jiuhua Xu Qingfan had saved all of Qingxu, then Qingxu Gate would owe Jiuhua a huge favor and would never hold their heads high in front of Jiuhua again.
The one who preached to Qingxu must also be Xu Fan, the Southern Wasteland rogue cultivator, because Qingxu Gate valued wisdom and did not look down on learning. But if it was a disciple from Jiuhua Mountain, wouldn’t that prove that Qingxu Gate was inferior to Jiuhua Mountain?
So even if it led to minor conflicts between the forces of good and evil, and even if hundreds of cultivators lost their lives, Immortal Zizhen would certainly not reveal the identity of Xu Fan from the Southern Wasteland.
"Fame and profit can kill people."
While flying, the usually silent Xu Qingfan suddenly sighed, drawing confused looks from Zhang Ningmei and others. However, Xu Qingfan suddenly had no desire to explain because he realized that although he saw through these things, he still couldn’t escape from them.
