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Chapter 22: Identity
January 3rd, 2023
TL Note: A slightly belated Happy New Year’s! Hope everyone has a great 2023!
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Ji Fangfang had only just gotten ahold of her scattered wits. Cold sweat soaked her clothes, and she turned toward the people behind her.
Fang Li said emotionally, “Thank goodness you were here, or we would be dead for sure.”
Is, is that right?
Ji Fangfang was a bit dazed.
But, but she clearly hadn’t done anything. Besides, was it really Sect Master Shan who had scared away the beast?
Ji Fangfang looked blanky towards the front. The white-robed elder was as imposing as a mountain with movements like wind as he started to battle the demonic beast. Seeing that it couldn’t get any advantages, the beast turned and disappeared into the forest……
It turned out that at some point, the people who had gathered on the other side had come to the rescue.
Looking at the situation, it was indeed Shan Qingyang who had driven the beast away with his attacks, but Ji Fangfang creased her brow. She distinctly remembered that when the beast had attacked her, Shan Qingyang still hadn’t arrived. Besides…… This beast didn’t really seem to be that scared of Shan Qingyang, either? It had even fought with Shan Qingyang for a while before leaving.
But other than Shan Qingyang, there was nobody else present who could threaten the demonic beast. Looking at it this way, it seemed like it really was Shan Qingyang after all……
Ji Fangfang’s heart was full of misgivings. Things really did seem to be as Fang Li said, but when scrutinizing them again, there still seemed to be something out of place……
Although Shan Qingyang had appeared promptly, there had still been grave casualties.
Seeing the people who had just been alive and well beside them become cold corpses while they didn’t even have the power to fight back, only able to let death descend upon them, the atmosphere suddenly became completely grave. Not a single person opened their mouth to speak.
The dark forests around them were like open-mawed basins of blood, seemingly about to snatch someone to swallow. If the demonic beast was hiding in the darkness to launch a surprise attack, even if Sect Master Shan Qingyang was present, they were afraid that he wouldn’t be able to protect everyone.
Shan Qingyang saw everyone’s unease and said in a heavy voice, “This old man knows of a place that’s easy to defend but difficult to attack that’s good for hiding. We can first go there to recover before making any decisions.”
There was someplace like that?
At this point, the crowd’s nerves had already been shattered from fright, and they dared even less to go down the mountain alone. Now, only by listening to Sect Master Shan’s arrangements would there be a hope of survival……
Everyone followed the Night Sky Palace’s people and arrived at a place halfway up the mountain. Within the deep underbrush there, an inconspicuous cave was hidden. The entrance of the cave was extremely narrow, only wide enough for two people standing side by side to enter or exit, yet the inside of the cave was exceedingly spacious, enough to fit several hundred people. It truly was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
The crowd inwardly let out a breath in relief. There was only one entrance here, and Sect Master Shan was also here to oversee things. The demonic beast probably wouldn’t be able to rampage anymore, so at least they were safe for the time being.
One by one, the crowd sat on the ground in exhaustion. Although the ones who had managed to survive hadn’t suffered any injuries, they had been alarmed and frightened and tired the whole journey, and it was truly hard to bear at this point.
Ji Fangfang looked at Fang Li’s group of three. Although the three of them were also travel-worn and covered in dust, she inexplicably felt that they gave off a relaxed kind of air…… Could it be her misconception?
Ji Fangfang cradled her sword, her mind in chaos.
The crowd rested for a while, then had some rations and water.
Finally, someone spoke up to ask, “Sect Master Shan, what should we do next?”
They’d originally come to capture the demonic beast, but who could’ve known that the beast would be this fierce and had instead forced them into a corner? Although they were safe for the moment, they couldn’t stay here forever……
Shan Qingyang stroked his beard and smiled, saying, “There’s no need to worry, everyone. This old man has already thought of a plan. As long as everyone works together, we are sure to defeat the beast and return safely together. Qingyuan, why don’t you explain to everyone?”
Xue Qingyuan stepped forward from the side and spoke. “We can set up an array here and lure the beast into the array. If everyone works together to power the array and entrap the beast, it will leave that evil creature with nowhere to run…… As for the matter of luring the beast into the trap, our Night Sky Palace will be in charge of it.”
This was indeed a good plan!
No matter how strong the beast was, it was only a brute. As long as it entered the trap, it would no longer be fearsome. The only difficulty in this plan was how to lure the beast into the trap; whoever acted as bait would be risking their lives. Since Night Sky Palace was willing to take on the risk, and the others only needed to put in some effort, everyone naturally had no objections. One by one, they approved of Night Sky Palace’s righteousness and honor and expressed that they would definitely do their utmost to cooperate and eliminate this danger for the people.
Seeing everyone’s approval, Xue Qingyuan revealed a smile and said, “Then let’s begin laying down the array……”
Suddenly, a languid, carefree voice rang out, resounding clearly within the cave. “No hurry.”
Xue Qingyuan’s pupils shrank as he looked over. Sure enough, it was Fang Li again. A bitter chill flowed through his chest, but the expression on his face remained genial as he asked, “Does Young Brother Qiu still have any questions?”
Fang Li stood up lazily.
Everyone’s gazes fell onto him. During this trip, it could be said that everyone had gotten some understanding of him and knew that whenever this brat opened his mouth, he never had anything good to say. Most likely, he was about to nitpick again. But still, take a look at the situation! Shan Qingyang is a Soul Formation master, he won’t tolerate a brash kid like you picking a fight with your superiors! Don’t you value your life?
Besides, Night Sky Palace spoke with reason and grounds and a deep understanding of principle. Can you find fault with even this?
Only Ji Fangfang looked woodenly at Fang Li, not a bit of surprise in her heart, as if she’d anticipated this long ago……
Why had she felt like Fang Li would speak? Truly strange……
Fang Li nonchalantly looked straight at the Night Sky Palace members with not a trace of fear and smiled faintly, saying, “While we’re working to help control the array, we won’t be able to move. If the beast somehow isn’t trapped, wouldn’t we become fish on a cutting board, to be slaughtered at will?”
From start to finish, Shan Qingyang put on the airs of being the better person and ignored Fang Li’s rudeness, his hands behind his back as he stood there indifferently.
Xue Qingyuan laughed and explained amiably, “So that was it. Young Brother Qiu’s concerns aren’t without reason, but we’ve already considered this point. If the beast someone isn’t trapped, the Sect Master will personally act to stall it. We definitely won’t allow the beast to hurt anyone here.”
Everyone took delight in Fang Li’s stumble. Look, you’re just raising a fuss over nothing! With Sect Master Shan Qingyang here, do you need to worry about these little matters? They’d seen Sect Master Shan in action against the demonic beast earlier, and disrupting the beast definitely wouldn’t be an issue for him.
Fang Li’s lips hooked up slightly, smiling ambiguously, his tone slow and drawn out. “Will the Sect Master really disrupt the beast?”
Now this question was malicious enough!
Shen Qingyng’s face became heavy in a flash, and he flicked his sleeves in displeasure. “Ridiculous!”
Xue Qingyuan stepped forward, his expression also changing, and he shouted coldly, “We’ve already answered your questions. Why are you still making a fuss for no reason?! Forget your nonsense earlier on; we didn’t feel like looking after you. But for acting so rudely in front of the Sect Master, I’ll be certain to inform Heavy Snow Sect of this matter.”
Such an ignorant, mannerless junior had even dared to talk back to a Soul Formation stage senior. If Heavy Snow Sect still wanted to make a living in these parts, once Night Sky Palace raised a complaint, they would definitely skin this kid alive. Being driven out of his sect would be a light punishment for him……
Ji Fangfang was a little anxious and wanted to persuade Fang Li to forget it, but seeing Fang Li calm and unhurried with an appearance as if it all had nothing to do with him, she suddenly stopped where she stood.
“Oh.” Fang Li laughed carelessly, an amused look in his eyes. “I don’t know if Night Sky Palace has heard of a legend like this: it’s said that the most valuable part of the Cloud Swallowing Beast actually isn’t its core.”
The crowd was stumped. If the most valuable part wasn’t the core, then what was it?
Xue Qingyuan’s expression became more and more unsightly, but seeing that everyone’s curiosity had been piqued, if he directly stopped Fang Li from continuing, it would definitely arouse everyone’s suspicion……
“Although the Cloud Swallowing Beast is an auspicious beast and won’t harm people, if it’s forcefully fed with blood and vital essence, it will stimulate the Cloud Swallowing Beast’s savage nature and cause it to lose its reason, as well as inducing changes in its core. As soon as it reaches its limit, it will be able to produce a blood spirit fetus.” Fang Li’s words were slow and clear as he said, “If a cultivator obtains this blood spirit fetus, they can produce a second nascent soul……”
The crowd was astonished, looking at Fang Li with doubt and disbelief. How come they’d never heard of something like this?
A second nascent soul.
That would be an incredible stroke of luck! Not only would it make one’s cultivation increase at a breakneck speed, it could also be used to cultivate an external incarnation. For a cultivator, it was basically a second life. It really was far more valuable than a core!
This time, not only Xue Qingyuan, but even Shan Qingyang’s expression changed. He looked profoundly at Fang Li, his expression a little bewildered.
Fang Li’s eyes were deep and shrouded, and his lips slowly hooked up. “Looking at the Cloud Swallowing Beast’s bloodthirsty appearance, it’s clearly already killed quite a few people…… If those of us present are included, it should be enough to produce a blood spirit fetus, right? And this mountain cave is so well-hidden, even if all of us die here today, nobody would know. It’s a good place for hiding corpses.“
Xue Qingyuan took a deep breath and laughed coldly, saying, “None of us have ever heard of this so-called blood spirit fetus you speak of. It’s not even written in the Spirit Beast Records. It can’t be that you know better than the Great Sage? That you know things that even the Great Sage didn’t know?”
Seeing that Fang Li’s words were clear and logical, the crowd had almost believed him, and their hearts had fallen into a bit of panic. Hearing Xue Qingyuan speak now, they thought again that maybe they’d been overthinking it.
What was written in the Great Sage of Origin’s book naturally couldn’t be false.
To think that they’d almost been duped by a couple of words from this brat.
But Fang Li turned a deaf ear to all of these, instead looking at Xue Qingyuan and saying cheerfully, “Right, Ding Qian was probably also arranged by you, wasn’t he? You knew that taking the blood and vital essence of living people to nurture a demonic fetus is slaughtering the innocent and goes against heavenly law. If people knew about it, Night Sky Palace would henceforth be condemned by all, so you arranged a chess piece in advance, wanting to shift the blame onto Hollow Ridge……
“Ding Qian received some benefits from you and carried out your task, but he was greedy and tried to extort you, so you killed him to silence him…… Although, perhaps you never intended to let him leave here alive from the start. After all, only dead people don’t tell tales……”
Xue Qingyuan tightly clenched his teeth. The plot had almost been completely revealed. He took a deep breath and said in a frigid voice, “You’re speaking maliciously without grounds. Just what evil intentions do you have, to frame and entrap our Night Sky Palace like this?”
“Frame?” Fang Li raised an eyebrow. “Ever since the Cloud Swallowing Beast appeared earlier, it’s been continually attacking us, and not a single Night Sky Palace disciple has been injured or killed. Why is that the case, then? It couldn’t be that the Cloud Swallowing Beast can actually recognize people and knows not to harm you?”
Originally, everyone had stood on Night Sky Palace’s side, up until Fang Li spoke those words—
They turned their heads to look around, and after a moment, their faces gradually turned white.
Previously, they’d been fleeing in panic the entire way, and they hadn’t had the time to count heads at all. Looking at it now, that really was the case.
Night Sky Palace hadn’t suffered a single loss. Everyone who’d died had been on their side.
“It’s said that powder made from the flower of the cypress vine has no color or odor, but it can stimulate the Cloud Swallowing Beast’s savage nature.” Fang Li smiled faintly. “If cypress vine flower powder was secretly left on the bodies of those you wanted to kill beforehand, you could make the Cloud Swallowing Beast pick those people to harm, while you yourselves suffer no losses at all. It really is a great plan for killing two birds with one stone……”
Everyone’s expression was extremely unsightly.
Although what Fang Li said was bizarre and preposterous and completely unheard of, the reality was, the Cloud Swallowing Beast hadn’t attacked Night Sky Palace and had only attacked them…… If they really had used such insidious means to lure them to their deaths, then even if they had to give up their lives, they had to take Night Sky Palace down with them!
Seeing that the crowd’s gazes were becoming increasingly unkind, Xue Qingyuan’s expression quickly wavered, and he tightly grasped the sword in his hand.
Suddenly, Xue Qingyuan drew his sword and pointed it at Fang Li, shouting angrily, “Now I understand. You’re the demonic cultivator!
“When you were keeping watch previously, you said you suffered an attack from a demonic cultivator, but other than yourself, nobody else has seen the demonic cultivator. After that, the demonic cultivator never appeared, either……” Xue Qingyuan said deliberately, “But if that demonic cultivator is you, everything makes sense. You’ve been concealing yourself among us this whole time, spreading rumors to frighten everyone. Your goal is precisely to lure us into turning on each other so that you can seize the spoils. Everything before this was your one-man act!”
The crowd looked at Xue Qingyuan, then looked at Fang Li, endless panic in their chests and their hearts tied in knots. What Xue Qingyuan said also seemed to make a lot of sense……
Looking at Fang Li, Xue Qingyuan let out a cold “hmph.” He was going to insist no matter what that Fang Li was the demonic cultivator and stick the title of “demonic cultivator” onto him. That way, Fang Li’s words wouldn’t be trustworthy any longer, and they could directly kill him to silence him!
The killing intent in Xue Qingyuan’s eyes flashed past, but just as he was going to strike, he saw Fang Li laugh.
The pale-faced man’s fingertips lightly brushed past his lips, wandering between his features, and he let out a soft, languid laugh. “You finally realized it.”
Xue Qingyuan, “?”
Everyone’s face was wholly stupefied, their minds crashing completely. Now what situation was this?
Was Fang Li really a demonic cultivator? But w-w-why…… why would he admit it?
But Xue Qingyuan didn’t have time to think it over. It was even better if Fang Li admitted it. At once, he said in a stern voice, “This person really is a demonic cultivator. His words can’t be trusted. Let’s quickly join hands and kill this demonic cultivator!”
But right now, the crowd didn’t trust Xue Qingyuan either. Just as they were swaying left and right, not knowing that to do……
A low, painful cry suddenly resounded from the entrance of the cave. The snow-white beast’s eyes were reddened, and it suddenly knocked aside the cultivators near the cave entrance and charged inside……
At some point, Fang Li’s fingertips had lightly pinched an invitation card. His figure was like a shadow, and he was much faster than even the Cloud Swallowing Beast. In a split second, he had stuffed the invitation card into the collar of Xue Qingyuan’s robes.
Xue Qingyuan’s expression changed drastically. He didn’t even have time to throw away the invitation card when he saw the Cloud Swallowing Beast suddenly lower its head and charge at him, its twin antlers piercing a hole directly through Xue Qingyuan, raising him up and throwing him heavily away!
The scene was deathly silent.
That, that invitation card……
Wasn’t that the invitation that Night Sky Palace had given them when inviting them? They were all still carrying them……
This time, the gears in the crowd ‘s brains finally started to turn, and they threw their invitations far away one after another!
In order to avoid the invitations, the Night Sky Palace members could only hastily retreat to dodge them, and all of a sudden, the crowd was split into two. The Night Sky Palace members were on one side, everyone else was on the other, and separating them far apart from each other in the middle was a pile of invitation cards…… They saw that the Cloud Swallowing Beast had lost its target and wandered about, trampling all over the cards without pause. It let out pained cries, as if it was uneasy and suffering.
Only Xue Qingyuan’s corpse was on the ground. The invitation that Fang Li had stuffed inside was still on his collar, and his eyes were wide open, even in death.
Seeing this scene, even the most dim-witted person could see what had happened. They turned to Night Sky Palace with glowering eyes!
What good fellows, so it turned out that what Fang Li had said had all been true! So ever since back then, you’d started scheming against us, wanting us to die here. Our faith in you was for nothing……
Now the witnesses and the evidence are ironclad. How do you still plan to make excuses?!
Seeing the miserable state of Xue Qingyuan’s corpse, Shan Qingyang finally completely tore off his mask. A Soul Formation cultivator’s presence was boundless, and the old man’s cold and gloomy gaze fell onto Fang Li. He sneered, “Even if everything you say is true, so what?”
Hearing those words, the crowd felt as if they’d fallen in a pit of ice.
That’s right, even if Night Sky Palace’s scheme had been revealed, so what? Not a single person present was Shan Qingyang’s match……
Even if Fang Li knew a lot, with that frail appearance that could be blown away by the wind, at a single glance, you could tell he couldn’t fight. Even if he spoke up, it was all for nothing!
At this moment, everyone’s hearts were full of endless regret. If they’d known earlier, they should have left with Verdant Forest Grotto’s people. No, if they’d known earlier, they wouldn’t have come at all!
This time, they’d completely sent themselves onto the path of no return.
Just as everyone was revealing expressions of despair, they saw an afterimage flit past. By the time they could see clearly, they saw the goateed man without much presence who had followed beside Fang Li the whole time strike Shan Qingyang to the ground with a single lash of a whip. He said in a dark, hoarse voice, “Daring to treat His Excellency with disrespect is a crime worth ten thousand deaths.”
The crowd, “???”
The crowd, “!!!”
His, His Excellency what, what His Excellency? Were they hallucinating?
Wasn’t Shan Qingyang’s cultivation level at the Soul Formation stage? How come in front of Fang Li’s attendant, such a powerful grandmaster had crumpled after a single strike like paper machê……?
Shan Qingyang was equally terrified. He still hadn’t had time to react when he was heavily injured by a heavy strike of a whip. On the ground, he lifted his head with difficulty to look at Fang Li, and his lips trembled. “Just, just who, who are you……”
That’s right, just who are you……?
Everyone looked at Fang Li.
Fang Li leisurely took a step forward. Looking around at the crowd, he tilted his head slightly and let out a soft laugh. “You were all saying that this lord was going to come. This lord found your great hospitality hard to decline, so isn’t this lord here now?”
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The Author Has Something to Say:
Speak of the devil and the devil will appear. Isn’t it fun? Aren’t you surprised?