Chapter 128: Chapter 63: Dust Settles, Return to the Taoist Temple
Demon Locking Tower central hub at the bottom level.
In the extremely spacious hall stood huge sword hilts, roughly numbering twenty-eight.
These sword hilts extended upwards to the top of the tower, serving as supportive pillars—it was because of these sword hilts that when the Jiaolong broke free and tried to entangle and shatter the Demon Locking Tower, it ultimately failed.
The longer sword blades were stabbed downwards into the heart of the earth. To be precise, they penetrated into the Fire Element Cave, charging the Demon Locking Tower with the inexhaustible Fire Element True Qi.
An old man sat cross-legged in the center of the hall surrounded by sword hilts, floating in mid-air, meditating with closed eyes.
The elder was dressed in white robes, with white hair, white eyebrows, and white beard, and his long eyebrows met in the middle, easily leaving a deep impression.
A short sword lay on his knees, three feet and four inches long, transparent throughout, its brightness reflecting like a mirror.
This person was the Long Eyebrow Immortal of the Shushan Shangqing Faction, and the short sword was the renowned Dual Polarity Dust Sword.
Jade Capital Sect Leader strode over, his robes rustling with his movements.
He came in front of Long Eyebrow Immortal, formed a sword salute with his left hand, and then spoke succinctly,
“The demon calamity has been quelled, and currently of the Jiaolong that fled from the tower, there are three hundred and sixty, one hundred and twenty-seven Chi dragons, and thirty-five Qiu dragons. Apart from those executed by the Dual Polarity Dust Sword, all have been bound and brought back to the tower.”
The Jade Capital Sect Leader did not mention Ying Long, but continued, his tone shifting,
“This calamity was caused by a collusion between a traitor within our Sect and a great demon from outside.”
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“The internal traitor was planted by the Eastern Emperor Path and became a disciple under Red Sun Peak of our Sect one hundred and twenty-seven years ago, claiming to be an orphan from Yongzhou. Combining the records of the service and feedback from Red Sun Peak, the spy indeed seemed to be a mere mortal at the beginning.”
Long Eyebrow Immortal remained undisturbed, as he had long anticipated this outcome.
What spies feared most was being such an ordinary person, never having cultivated any other Sect’s techniques, and were, apart from their thoughts, not much different from a regular disciple. If the enemy were even more cunning, it would be almost impossible to discern their true nature.
However, such spies also have a characteristic; they lay dormant for an exceptionally long period. A mere mortal would need at least two hundred years to reach the Golden Core Realm, and in the Foundation Establishment Realm, they hardly could play any significant role.
Yet, the main cause of the calamity was not the spy but the external great demon involved.
“The external great demon, after investigation, is presumed to be an Illusionary Moon Celestial Fox from the Qingqiu tribe,” continued Jade Capital Sect Leader. “The steward of Demon Locking Tower has discovered one person missing, likely attacked by the Illusionary Moon Celestial Fox while on an external mission, and then replaced by the Celestial Fox to infiltrate the tower.”
The Illusionary Moon Celestial Fox was at least in the Nascent Soul Realm and also skilled in Illusion Techniques; it made sense that the tower stewards, being only True Persons by rank, would be no match for it.
“However, the day when the intruder sneaked into the Demon Locking Tower coincided with the beginning of the tower’s trial.” The Jade Capital Sect Leader sneered, “After entering the tower and finding the trial ongoing, caught off guard, the intruder had no choice but to crudely activate the hidden traitor within, causing chaos in the trial team and forcing the trial to end prematurely.”
“The disciples who died during the trial period were killed by the Illusionary Moon Celestial Fox, and, with intelligence provided by the spy, impersonated Qi Sha True Person to commit the deed. This stirred confusion and panic and has been confirmed.”
“After the incident, the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment teams were forced to interrupt the trial and evacuate from the Demon Locking Tower….”
“That Illusionary Moon Celestial Fox,” interrupted Long Eyebrow Immortal suddenly, “what was its calculated plan by infiltrating the tower?”
Jade Capital Sect Leader started to smile bitterly.
To say that the fox was there to aid Ying Long’s escape was ludicrous.
After breaking free, Ying Long did not flee Shushan immediately but instead went to clash with the Dual Polarity Dust Formation above Emei Golden Summit, clearly showing no intention to escape.
Long Eyebrow Immortal, who presided over the Dual Polarity Dust Formation, initially chose not to activate it, intending to confirm which Great Demon had infiltrated the tower.
However, when Ying Long threatened to breath a destructive blast at the Emei Golden Summit, Long Eyebrow Immortal was compelled to activate the formation early and severely wounded Ying Long.
The Illusionary Moon Celestial Fox probably seized this chance to escape.
As such, the reason for the fox’s infiltration into the Demon Locking Tower became an unsolvable mystery….
“I dare to speculate there might be two possibilities,” Jade Capital Sect Leader pondered for a long while before speaking, “The first, it intended to convey a certain message to Ying Long.”
“The second, it sought to receive a certain message from Ying Long.”
“Hmm,” Long Eyebrow Immortal also pondered.
Obviously, the Illusionary Moon Celestial Fox came empty-handed and left the same way without taking any demons—thus, it must be something intangible.
For instance, the secrets that only Ying Long was privy to… and so on.
“Let’s leave this matter at that for now,” Long Eyebrow Immortal decided, “It’s not appropriate to make a big show of investigating within the Sect, but you can choose some trustworthy people to observe carefully.”
“At this juncture, external factions are paying closer attention to our Shushan circumstances. Other spies within the Sect will also become more active in gathering intelligence. It’s a good opportunity to eliminate a batch as a warning to others.”
“Understood,” Jade Capital Sect Leader hesitated before adding, “There’s just one more thing.”
“If we don’t explain this matter within the Sect, many disciples will think that it was Qingluo Peak that took action…”
Long Eyebrow Immortal replied directly:
“No harm, let them think what they will.”
Jade Capital Sect Leader sighed inwardly.
The Immortal still couldn’t let go of Qi Sha True Person, after all, he was his most valued Direct Disciple…
But such compulsion may not necessarily achieve the desired effect.
Su Jian’s stubbornness, Jade Capital Sect Leader knew all too well.
If An Zhisu really was harmed one day because of this, once Su Jian finished his retreat and sought revenge for his daughter, how could he not see the deliberate indulgence of the Immortal in this matter?
By then, he feared that Su Jian would rather betray the Sect than return to the path of Forgetting Love.
Unfortunately, this struggle for doctrinal dominance is utterly ruthless.
As long as Su Jian chose to return to the path of Forgetting Love, everything would proceed to a successful conclusion, and Qingluo Peak’s lineage would be safe and sound.
But if Su Jian still insisted on following the Sentiment Inquiry Path, then he would be deemed a heretic, deserving of death.
The Immortal probably saw it that way.
It’s just a pity for An Zhisu and Ling Yunpo, who stood out among their Foundation Establishment Realm peers, but in the Immortal’s eyes, they likely didn’t come close to even a ten-thousandth of Su Jian’s importance.
Setting aside the affairs of the Shushan upper echelons for now, let’s say that after the Demon Locking Tower incident was settled, Ling Yunpo returned to Qingluo Peak with An Zhisu and came to a secret chamber deep within the mountain.
Ling Yunpo took out the Mercurial Elixir Liquid and began refining it.
In this world of Cultivating Immortality, there are indeed rare and strange methods that can improve one’s elixir grade, not limited to just one or two kinds.
Among them, Mercurial Elixir Liquid is considered top tier, saving one sixty years of arduous cultivation, a pity that one can ingest only a spoonful;
The Cloud Sea Realm is regarded as second tier, accelerating half a sixty-year period of arduous cultivation, but of course, it can also be used only once.
For Pill Formation Third Grade, two hundred years are required in the Refining Mansion, giving one ninety years of cultivation.
The remaining one hundred and ten years, Ling Yunpo does not plan to spend in terms of lifespan but aims to search in Kunlun and Penglai.
He does not believe that the Taiqing Sect and Yuqing View, also of the Three Pure Orthodox Sect, lack profound methods to speed up the Refining Mansion process!
Ling Yunpo refines the Mercurial Elixir Liquid on that side, while on this side, An Zhisu kneels on a cushion, praying to her master Su Jian about her latest journey.
“Master, I have something to report.”
“This venture to the Demon Locking Tower was fraught with treachery and unpredictability.”
“Fortunately, as your disciple, I managed to bring back my junior brother unharmed.”
“The Frostfall Sword has been damaged because of this, but I… do not feel regretful. Saving my junior brother is more important than anything.”
“Although… I’ve lost my Life-bound Sword Artifact, fortunately, with the support of the Mercurial Elixir Liquid and the Cloud Sea Realm, attaining Pill Formation Third Grade is within reach, and I won’t disappoint you, Master.”
“I hope you will leave your retreat soon, Master. Here, your disciple bows deeply.”
Having recited these thoughts silently, An Zhisu gently bowed down, resting her forehead on the ground.
Yet in the corner of her eyes, there flickered a glimmer of tears.