Although these twins were only at the Foundation Establishment Great Circle stage, everyone present except for Hua Xijian and Shen Luohe had a higher cultivation level than them.
Yet, no one dared to look down on them due to their low cultivation.
This was because the older of the two was named Canzhi and the younger was named Meifu, and both were direct disciples of the current Sect Master of the Qingjing Sect, making them impossible to underestimate.
—For the Qingjing Sect to send these two, they must have placed great importance on this matter.
“That little cultivator has only just reached Foundation Establishment, and her foundation is unstable. Having risked her life to break the Two-Form Inversion Formation, she triggered the punishment of the heavenly lightning and is still recovering from her severe injuries. It is truly inappropriate for her to receive guests.”
Empress Cao covered her lips with her sleeve and said gently:
“Speaking of which, this child is also quite wronged. She was acting out of pure sincerity, investigating a case for the Demon Suppression Division, only to be dragged into the schemes of the evil monk Huiyuan and Daoist Qinglong by accident.
“Since Qinglong's death, the Commissioners of the Jingxinan, Hedongxi, and Western Huainan Circuits have taken over the Northwest Circuit Demon Suppression Monastery. While clearing up the past demon cases, they indeed found evidence of him harboring tiger demons and rearing ghost-demons.”
Her words were soft yet pointed, making the twins feel rather uncomfortable. The one with the softer expression spoke up, offering a piece of information with a smile:
“You all may not know this, but when Uncle Mo exposed Qinglong's evil deeds in the past, he was strangled to death by that scoundrel. However, a wisp of Uncle Mo's soul was preserved by the Two-Form Inversion Formation, and he managed to survive.
“After the formation shattered and the heavenly lightning descended, Uncle Mo's soul returned to the sect and reported the matter to Ningxue Ancestor, which deeply shocked the sect.
“One of our Grand-Uncles, who is skilled in deduction, tried to calculate the details, but found that the heavenly secrets had been obscured. The battle in the Demon Suppression Monastery that day was too blurry to be deduced.
“Because of this, the two of us were sent ahead to lay the groundwork, and Ningxue Ancestor herself will arrive shortly.”
Mo Chenghuai was not dead?
Everyone present harbored their own thoughts.
The Cao siblings exchanged a look, both coming to their own conclusions.
Nun Miaoyun fingered the prayer beads in her hand, her expression calm. However, when she heard that the battle of that day could not be deduced, her brow furrowed slightly, and her eyes fell upon Shen Luohe, deep in thought.
Hua Xijian was bewildered, while Shen Luohe lowered his eyes. After pondering for a moment, a trace of struggle flashed through his eyes before quickly vanishing.
“I heard that Ningxue Ancestor has not left the sect for seven hundred years, yet she is personally visiting the mortal realm for Qinglong's sake.”
Qiu Buguo did not seem surprised. He casually picked up a hawthorn berry and toyed with it in his hand:
“I heard that your sect's Ningxue Ancestor has hopes of reaching the Deity Transformation stage. I wonder if that is true?”
Direct disciples of great sects always had some life-saving trump cards.
This was especially true for formation cultivators. Those who achieved success in this path were already extremely rare. If they did not have some tricks up their sleeves, how could their sect bear to send them to guard the mortal realm?
Even he kept a life-saving talisman close to his chest, which only required blood essence to activate, summoning elders of the same sect from within ten thousand li to come and aid him in battle.
“Ah, it is Uncle Qiu, Qiu Buguo of the Wuwei Sect. You should know, Uncle Qiu, that our Qingjing Sect has strict rules and we do not lightly discuss matters regarding our Ancestors.”
Seeing that it was someone from the Wuwei Sect, Canzhi's eyebrows flattened, and he replied in a lukewarm tone:
“I recall that Grand-Uncle Zongfang of the Wuwei Sect wished to become Dao companions with the Dragon Girl. He spent money like water at the Haifang Market, and the betrothal gifts he promised alone amounted to half a spirit stone vein. He was truly extravagant.
“What happened after that? I wonder if Grand-Uncle Zongfang is still at the Haifang Market today?”
Qiu Buguo's face turned green.
—The Zongfang they mentioned was the son of the Wuwei Sect's Sect Master. He was a dissolute playboy, incredibly mischievous, and particularly loved to fool around with demon women.
This individual had caused countless jokes. Originally, the Wuwei Sect had planned to establish a sea route from Haifang Market to the Three Provinces to transport spirit stones toward the Four Heavenly Pillars.
Who would have thought that Grand-Uncle Zongfang, who was sent to negotiate, would fall for a honey trap? Not only did he promise half a spirit stone vein on the spot, but he also shamelessly insisted on marrying into the Dragon Girl's family.
In the end, the heavenly beautiful Dragon Girl did not fancy him at all. She had played along purely for the interests of the demon race. As soon as the peace talks ended, she abandoned Zongfang.
After learning the truth, this Grand-Uncle cried and drank himself to sleep every day, sticking around the Haifang Market like a stubborn plaster, refusing to leave and chasing after the Dragon Girl's heels.
Although this was a matter from over a decade ago, whenever it was brought up, the disciples of the Wuwei Sect felt deeply embarrassed.
“Your Qingjing Sect is indeed 'quiet' and 'pure.' Although my Grand-Uncle fooled around, he did not disregard human life or act against heaven.”
Qiu Buguo sneered, crushing the hawthorn berry in his hand with a soft splat:
“Rearing Yin Wine Worms, raising demon tiger chang ghosts, colluding with the fallen immortal Huiyuan, slaughtering innocent lives, refining evil elixirs...
“To resurrect his Dao companion, he shamelessly plotted against a mere Foundation Establishment junior. I feel ashamed on your behalf just speaking of it.
“Today you arrive with such aggressive momentum, wanting to hold people accountable? Although Qinglong was the Northwest Circuit Demon Suppression Commissioner, he was also a Nascent Soul Master of your Qingjing Sect. If all of his deeds are made public, will it bring any glory to your Qingjing Sect's name?”
Canzhi and Meifu exchanged a glance, both understanding that this matter was absolutely unsuitable for a large-scale investigation.
This was precisely why the sect had instructed them to keep a low profile.
—Although Qinglong was dead, if this matter were to be widely publicized, the only one whose reputation would suffer would be the Qingjing Sect.
If only that Foundation Establishment female cultivator and the fellow disciples Shen Luohe and Hua Xijian had been present that day, it would have been easy to handle.
Although that female cultivator had indirectly caused Qinglong's demise, it was ultimately because the latter had committed too many evils and acted unrighteously, bringing about heavenly punishment.
They could have offered her various compensations, and then decided whether to recruit her into the sect based on her aptitude.
As for Shen Luohe and Hua Xijian, although they had made minor mistakes by failing to correct the wrongs in a timely manner, they had committed no major offenses. They should have simply waited for the sect elders' judgment according to the sect rules.
But the situation that day was complex, and it was impossible to deduce what had actually happened within the formation. This left them somewhat uncertain about how to handle the female cultivator.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator killing a Nascent Soul expert across realms.
Even if she had only broken the formation to trigger the lightning, if they told anyone, they would think they were daydreaming.
“This poor nun can also testify to what was seen and heard that day,”
Nun Miaoyun guessed some of the Qingjing Sect's thoughts. She fingered her Buddhist beads and said slowly:
“Under the heavenly lightning and earth fire, Qinglong had committed too many evils and was rejected by heaven. His Nascent Soul shattered, and his life and cultivation were utterly extinguished. There was absolutely no human intervention involved.
“If your noble sect still has doubts about this, you might as well ask the local mountain gods and Land Gods. Surely, one or two of them witnessed it with their own eyes.”
Nun Miaoyun possessed a significant background, so the two did not dare to be negligent. Meifu quickly stood up and replied:
“Greetings, Buddhist Master. The two of us are not unreasonable people. Our arrival this time is merely to fulfill the past agreement between the Qingjing Sect and Empress Shenlong.
“Although Qinglong committed numerous evils, he was, after all, a Nascent Soul cultivator of our sect. If this matter is settled sloppily without any investigation, wouldn't it discourage the other cultivators of our sect?
“To tell you the truth, our early arrival serves three purposes: first, to escort Shen Luohe and Hua Xijian back to the sect for trial; second, to deal with the disasters left behind by Qinglong; and third, to pave the way for Ningxue Ancestor.”
Having said that, Canzhi added stiffly from the side:
“With Qinglong's death, the Northwest Circuit Demon Suppression Monastery will be taken over by Ningxue Ancestor from now on.”
The others exchanged looks, all of them understanding the underlying implication.
—On that day, the heavenly lightning rumbled, and the Northwest Circuit Demon Suppression Monastery collapsed and sank. Even after several days had passed, residual lightning intent still surged in the area.
The killing intent of heavenly lightning was extremely rare, especially divine lightning brought down by heavenly punishment. If a cultivator were to train and temper themselves within it, they would surely achieve twice the result with half the effort.
This lightning intent would likely last for a hundred years. How could the Qingjing Sect possibly give up such a naturally formed treasure land?
However, exchanging just a single Demon Suppression Monastery for a Nascent Soul cultivator to watch over the area was a fair trade.
“So that is how it is. It seems we have misunderstood.”
State Uncle Cao set down his teacup. With a flick of his finger in the air, a misty haze drifted, and the celestial maidens depicted on the screen stepped down to serve new tea to everyone:
“With the unrest on Yin Yang Road and the fallen immortal Huiyuan still on the run with a wicked treasure, it would naturally be for the best if Ningxue Ancestor is willing to watch over the Great Song.”
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