After waiting for nearly half an hour, Baiyan’s master arrived swiftly with Baiyan and Zhuangyang.
Li Qinghong, Shangguan Yunzhu’s master, Zhang Xingyi, Qingfeng’s master, and Zhuangyang’s master took another two hours before reaching this place.
“Yunzhu!”
The moment Li Qinghong’s gaze landed on her beloved disciple, she saw Shangguan Yunzhu sitting cross-legged on the ground, her long skirt stained with blood.
Her heart was suddenly pierced as if by a sharp needle.
“Master.”
Seeing Li Qinghong, Shangguan Yunzhu immediately stood and prepared to bow, but Li Qinghong’s robe sleeve fluttered slightly, and a gentle yet firm force steadied her in place.
“Don’t bow… sit down quickly! Ah, for your master… your master was foolish! Agreeing to that scoundrel Qingfeng’s request to have you come here in search of Chifeng Grass as a trial was all my fault.”
Li Qinghong’s face showed sorrow, her voice laced with painful regret and guilt.
Seeing this, Shangguan Yunzhu’s heart tightened slightly. She took a soft breath to steady herself and said quietly, “It is my lack of skill in the arts that has caused Master worry…”
Zhang Xingyi, who had also arrived, already knew of Qingfeng’s death. He took a deep breath, his voice hoarse with barely concealed emotion: “What exactly happened?”
When they split up to search, they had captured a cultivator who was an accomplice of Qingfeng and Qiong.
After interrogation, that cultivator was dealt with, and through questioning, they learned the general outline of the events. This was why Zhang Xingyi did not immediately fly into a rage.
Xuanping said, “Junior Brother Xingyi, calm yourself. This matter is serious and complicated. Let Yunzhu recount everything in full. Yunzhu, be as detailed as possible; nothing is to be concealed!”
Li Qinghong quickly added, “Yunzhu, speak freely. Your master will take responsibility for everything.”
“Disciple obeys.”
Shangguan Yunzhu solemnly agreed, her eyes instinctively flickering toward the edge of the crowd where Lu Qiancha stood.
That brief glance strangely calmed the turmoil in her heart caused by facing her master and the deceased master.
She sighed softly and began from when the five disciples split up, recounting every detail.
She spoke from midday to the setting of the golden sun, from twilight’s embrace to the stars filling the sky.
Beside her, Lu Qiancha looked down at the few remaining Returning Essence Pills she had left, a surge of resentment rising in her heart.
She cast a quiet glance at Shangguan Yunzhu, silently complaining, “Why doesn’t this woman start from the beginning of creation, Pan Gu’s world opening?”
Resigned, Lu Qiancha maintained the operation of the Wanshang Shen Ying Jue while sitting in meditation to regulate her breath; she roughly swallowed the story Shangguan Yunzhu told, juggling three tasks at once. Without pressure, she never would have realized she possessed such potential…
As Shangguan Yunzhu’s narration unfolded, the dangerous outlines became clearer.
After Xuanmo was trapped, Qingfeng did not directly ambush Shangguan Yunzhu but first called a band of vicious bandits to attack them both, hoping to stage a heroic rescue.
However, Shangguan Yunzhu—the “beauty”—was much stronger than Qingfeng—the “hero”—making Qingfeng’s situation extremely awkward.
When that plan failed, Qingfeng devised another. He manipulated the situation, applying pressure step by step, pushing the two into a near-death “desperate” state.
Seizing the moment, he tearfully confessed, trying to move the lady with the bond of shared fate.
Yet, even facing death, Shangguan Yunzhu resolutely rejected Qingfeng’s proposal to “share the same fate and meet again in the next life.”
After repeated failed soft approaches, Qingfeng, furious and humiliated, tore off his mask and tried to control Shangguan Yunzhu with his emotional poison.
She seized the opportunity, escaped with a Nuoyibao Fu, and just happened to encounter Lu Qiancha, who saved her for the first time.
After recovering from her injuries, Shangguan Yunzhu tried to detour back to Juezhang Forest.
But fate was unkind. Just a few days later, she became lost in the vast snowfield and, even worse, was discovered once again.
At death’s doorstep, the green robe swept through the air—Lu Qiancha arrived like timely rain.
Through coordinated tactics, they lured the pursuers into a deadly formation, killing them all. Qingfeng, meanwhile, was ended by Shangguan Yunzhu herself, his soul dispersed.
As the last word fell, night descended like a heavy curtain.
Silence. A deathly quiet enveloped the entire scene.
Hearing this, the Demonic Sword Remnant Heart in Lu Qiancha’s body sneered: “After giving so many chances, that junior brother is utterly useless.”
Lu Qiancha’s lips twitched. She had thought Qingfeng was cunning and difficult to deal with, but it turned out he was nothing but a hopeless fool.
Judging from how Shangguan Yunzhu had easily overwhelmed him, his entire Divine Transformation realm might have been a fragile bubble inflated by pills…
A series of meaningful glances fell upon the quietly standing Lu Qiancha and the radiant Xun Xue beside her.
Li Qinghong personally led Shangguan Yunzhu forward.
The two bowed deeply toward Xun Xue, saying, “Respectful thanks to the Zun Zhe’s daughter for saving lives. On behalf of Yunzhu, Qinghong offers profound gratitude!”
They rose and turned to Lu Qiancha, their gaze sincere: “Junior Sister Qiancha, your righteous aid in protecting my disciple will be richly rewarded upon your return to the sect!”
Xuanya, seeing her disciple once again thrust into the spotlight, worried about saying too much and causing trouble. She hurried forward with a beaming smile, graciously taking all the thanks upon herself.
The most embarrassed person present was Zhang Xingyi.
He exhaled a long, heavy breath as if trying to expel all the grief and frustration within him. His features were full of sorrow and defeat:
“Alas… it is this poor Daoist’s fault… for misjudging people, for blindness in recognition, taking on this troublesome disciple and bringing disaster to the sect… When we return, I shall go to the Jielu Tang to accept punishment myself.”
Xuanping immediately placed a hand on his shoulder, speaking gently to comfort him, “Junior Brother, do not blame yourself too harshly. Qingfeng’s heart was poisonous from the start, deceiving everyone upon joining. It was not your lack of insight.”
“Besides, you were rushed during the last grand founding ceremony; how could you fully understand his nature? No one in the sect blames you.”
Zhang Xingyi nodded gloomily, silent, his figure lonely beneath the starlight.
***
On the journey home,
Li Qinghong and Shangguan Yunzhu took the lead, carrying Yunzhu as a red shooting star that tore through the night at full speed.
Though the incident in Bei Juluzhou had concluded, Shangguan Yunzhu had killed Qingfeng and would still be punished according to sect rules upon returning.
But Li Qinghong could not bear to see her disciple suffer such injustice. He snorted coldly and sent a message to his Daoist partner, instructing her to negotiate with the sect’s law enforcement ahead of time.
As for himself, he changed course, carrying murderous intent like a meteor streaking toward the Aolai Kingdom capital. He wanted to personally see the forces behind Qingfeng uprooted entirely.
The rest of the group sped through the silent night sky. The journey seemed peaceful but hid a strange little “annoyance.”
Lu Qiancha occasionally twisted her waist slightly, her brows knitting and then relaxing quickly, clearly uncomfortable.
That hidden big wolf tail was frequently and unexpectedly pinched by a pair of delicate hands, just a light pinch.
A vein twitched on Lu Qiancha’s forehead as she cursed inwardly, “What trick is Xun Xue using? My tail’s invisible, yet she still manages to catch it?!”
The night at Tianquanfeng was quiet and still. A drifting cloud floated gently down by the familiar lakeshore, where Lu Qiancha and Xun Xue descended from above.
Xuanya, her face radiant, rode the cloud with the wind beneath her feet. Having accepted Xuanmo Shigu’s invitation, she was preparing to attend the feast.
Crossing the isolation formation, stepping onto the familiar grass, Lu Qiancha breathed a contented sigh.
Compared to Bei Juluzhou, her little home felt infinitely safer.
“Qiancha, the place you live is even more simple than mine.”
Xun Xue looked around curiously. The clear blue in her eyes reflected the lake and grass hut, her brows raised in mild surprise.
“Can’t be helped. Tianquan Peak has no immortal presiding, so it’s always been poor. Finding a place to shelter from wind and rain is already difficult; there’s no luxury for pavilions and towers.”
Lu Qiancha spoke with genuine resignation. After crossing over, she had been taken in by her master on the immortal mountain, expecting a grand mansion filled with wealth and splendor.
But reality was a single grass hut and utter poverty.
Having lived here for decades, she no longer minded. It was better than dining on the wind and drinking the dew.
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