Qin Wanwan was quite surprised by Cuilu’s reaction. She had thought that the matter of Divine Lord Mingjing falling into demonic ways and being killed by Hua Rong was something well known by everyone. However, judging from Cuilu’s reaction, it was clear that there was another hidden truth to this matter.
Feeling a bit confused about the situation, Qin Wanwan tried to explain: “Hua Rong told me personally that it was him who killed Divine Lord Mingjing.”
“Impossible!” Cuilu exclaimed sharply, raising a scythe and swinging it towards Qin Wanwan. “You’re talking nonsense!”
“Miss Qin!”
“Master!”
Seeing this, Xie Gutang and Nan Feng tried to rush over. But all the soldiers immediately gathered around Xie Gutang and Nan Feng, surrounding them. Qin Wanwan was being chased by Cuilu. While defending herself from Cuilu’s relentless attacks, she tried to persuade her, “It’s Hua Rong who said this, not me. You should investigate first before speaking.”
Cuilu said nothing, the massive scythe whistled through the air as it swept just over Qin Wanwan’s head. She quickly bent down to avoid it, then called out to Cuilu, “Think about it carefully. Hua Rong was just a Golden Core cultivator back then, yet he ascended to the Tribulation period overnight. There’s definitely something wrong with this. He himself admitted that he killed Divine Lord Mingjing. What are you still insisting on?”
“You are lying.”
Cuilu merely repeated, “Divine Lord Mingjing could not have been killed by him.”
Hearing Cuilu repeatedly mentioning Divine Lord Mingjing, Qin Wanwan’s heart began to settle, and she roughly understood the situation.
In Cuilu’s heart, it seemed that Lin Yanzhi’s importance far outweighed that of Hua Rong.
While dodging Cuilu’s attacks, Qin Wanwan carefully considered her words and said, “Lord Cuilu, why are you so certain that Divine Lord Mingjing couldn’t have died at the hands of Hua Rong? Haven’t you ever had any doubts? What if Divine Lord Mingjing really was killed by Hua Rong? You have been working like a slave for Hua Rong– do you really think you can justify that, knowing what happened to Divine Lord Mingjing?”
“Shut up!”
Cuilu delivered a kick toward Qin Wanwan’s chest. Qin Wanwan was hit by it and stumbled backward.
Jian Xingzhi’s ears twitched hearing the commotion nearby. However, the spiritual energy transformed by the heavenly thunder coursing through his body exploded his Sea of Consciousness, sending it into great chaos. At this moment, he couldn’t spare the energy to intervene with Qin Wanwan’s situation. All he could do was speed up the process of absorbing the spiritual energy within his body, trying to calm his chaotic Sea of Consciousness, while keeping a careful watch on the movements of Qin Wanwan and Cuilu.
Cuilu advanced step by step toward Qin Wanwan, holding the scythe in her hand. When she reached Qin Wanwan, she pointed the blade at her and coldly asked, “Were you the one who killed Hua Rong?”
Qin Wanwan couldn’t respond immediately. She clutched her chest, breathing heavily as she looked at Cuilu. “Why do you trust Hua Rong so much, believing he didn’t kill Divine Lord Mingjing?”
“Because,” Cuilu said with a bit of reluctance in her cold expression, “Divine Lord Mingjing, took his own life.”
When those words were spoken, Qin Wanwan froze. The two of them were separated from the crowd at a considerable distance, with only Jian Xingzhi sitting in meditation not far away.
Cuilu looked at Qin Wanwan with a calm gaze. “Back then, I saw Divine Lord Mingjing leaving and entering in seclusion cultivation in Huangcheng. A year later, the Ning family sent word that Divine Lord Mingjing had passed away. He couldn’t suppress the demonic energy within his body and feared losing control, so he took his own life, eliminating the Demon Seed in the process. Therefore, he couldn’t have died at Hua Rong’s hands.”
Hearing Cuilu’s words, Qin Wanwan quickly processed the information in her mind. She fixed her gaze on Cuilu before asking, “But you can’t be sure, can you?”
Cuilu remained silent, and Qin Wanwan pressed on, “If you’re so certain, then why are you telling me all this? You said that he killed himself in Huangcheng to suppress the demonic energy, but did you see it with your own eyes, or heard it from others?”
Cuilu turned silent as if she were deep in thought. After a long while, it seemed she had made up her mind. She coldly spoke, “It was I who sent him away back then. Before he died, Hua Rong never left for Huangcheng. So, it couldn’t have been Hua Rong. You must be lying to me.”
“But…”
“Hua Rong wanted to use the lives of the people in the city to resurrect the Divine Lord Mingjing. This is against the will of heaven and should be executed.” Cuilu interrupted her, not giving her a chance to speak at all. She seemed to have thought it through and decided not to entangle herself with Qin Wanwan anymore, “However, he was the City Lord of our Guicheng. If you had killed him, that would be an insult to our Guicheng. Today, I shall take your life as avenging the death of the City Lord.”
“Calm down!”
Qin Wanwan shouted in surprise. At that moment, the scythe in Cuilu’s hand came rushing toward her with a majestic spiritual energy. Qin Wanwan immediately activated the array in her hand, opening it wide to block the attack in front of her.
However, at the moment when the scythe and the array collided, they were both shocked to find that their spiritual energies flowed in a remarkably similar manner, almost as if they originated from the same source. Qin Wanwan even distinctly recognized that the array at the tip of the scythe was a unique spell belonging to Jishan alone!
Both Qin Wanwan and Cuilu were shocked. As the light collided, Cuilu urgently shouted, “Where did you learn this array?”
“I should ask you this question!”
Qin Wanwan spoke anxiously. This array was clearly a technique belonging solely to Jishan. How could there be Jishan’s spells in this small world?
“Who taught you this?!”
After hearing this, Cuilu obviously understood something, and she quickly swept aside. She raised her hand, signaling for everyone to stop. “Stop!”
Everyone stopped at once. Cuilu looked at Qin Wanwan, thinking for a moment before giving orders to those around her: “Take everyone back.”
After saying that, Cuilu glanced at Qin Wanwan and gestured: “Come with me.”
Qin Wanwan glanced at Jian Xingzhi beside her. He was clearly encountering some kind of situation and was still in the midst of his meditation. However, thinking about Cuilu’s connection to Jishan’s techniques, Qin Wanwan found it hard to let go. After a moment of hesitation, she finally spoke up: “My Master is unwell. Please don’t touch him.”
“I won’t touch him,” Cuilu replied, glancing at Jian Xingzhi. As her gaze met his face, she hesitated for a moment, and her tone softened significantly. “I’ll have someone carry him away.”
After Cuilu finished speaking, she ordered someone to bring a stretcher. Jian Xingzhi was lifted onto it like a living Buddha, and then the stretcher was carried away.
Qin Wanwan, feeling uneasy, instructed Xie Gutang and Nan Feng to follow after them. After that, she finally turned to face Cuilu. The two of them seemed to have a shared understanding, as if they were both holding onto a secret. They exchanged a glance, and Cuilu pressed her lips together before saying, “Let’s take a walk by the river.”
Qin Wanwan nodded, and with Cuilu, she strolled away from the large cave.
Cuilu, dressed in a green dress decorated with feathers, walked beside Qin Wanwan along the riverbank. Her hands were clasped behind her back, and she seemed to be contemplating how to begin speaking.
Qin Wanwan decided to speak up first: “The technique you know belongs to my family.”
Cuilu’s expression stiffened for a moment. She nodded and replied, “Mm, I understand.”
“Who taught you that?”
“About a hundred years ago,” Cuilu reminisced, “Demons were rampant all over the world at that time, and Divine Lord Mingjing was tirelessly traveling around to save the world. During that period, two extraordinary figures came to Guicheng. The woman’s Daoist name was Shangsui, and the man’s Daoist name was Taiheng.”
Hearing this, Qin Wanwan was momentarily shaken with excitement.
“Then what?”
“The two Immortals came to Guicheng to assist the Divine Lord Mingjing in saving others. At that time, I was saved by them and received their guidance, learning some minor spells in the process.”
“What happened to those two Immortals?” Qin Wanwan asked urgently. Cuilu shook her head. “I don’t know. After the death of the Divine Lord Mingjing, the two Immortals also disappeared, and no one knows where they went.”
Qin Wanwan froze for a moment, a wave of disappointment and worry rushing over her. But she quickly steadied herself and pushed those feelings aside.
She tried to maintain her composure, but a series of questions spilled out: “What exactly happened back then? Why did the two Immortals come? When was the last time you saw them? Has anyone else seen them?”
“What is your relationship with the two Immortals?” Cuilu sent a suspicious gaze at Qin Wanwan.
Qin Wanwan hesitated for a moment. After thinking for a long while, she finally answered truthfully, “They are my parents.”
Cuilu was taken momentarily aback. After a brief pause, she looked at Qin Wanwan with a hint of surprise, “Then you… you…”
She hesitated for a moment before asking: “How are you now?”
“Did they tell you about this as well?” Qin Wanwan asked, a bit embarrassed. “I ended up here by chance, it’s not really a big deal.”
“Back then, the two Immortals mentioned that they had a beloved daughter who was in poor health. They said they came here for her, in search of a chance to improve her condition.”
Qin Wanwan listened as Cuilu reminisced about the past: “At that time, the world was full of demons, the Cultivation Realm was frequently engaged in battles, and the people were living in misery. Divine Lord Mingjing established Wugoucheng, and the two Immortals worked alongside him to save the world.”
“What about the Demon Seeds?”
Qin Wanwan asked curiously, and Cuilu raised her hand. A glowing seed appeared between them. “The Master of the Demon Seeds, is called the Demon Lord by everyone. His origins were unknown, and he has no physical form. He was born from the evil thoughts of humans, feeding on their malice. He scattered these seeds, which then parasitized human bodies. Once a person harbors evil thoughts, they will be magnified exponentially, eventually becoming his nutrients, consumed by him completely.”
“Is this a Demon Seed?” Qin Wanwan asked, staring at the seed in Cuilu’s hand. Cuilu smiled softly and withdrew the seed into her palm. “This one is dead. The true danger of the Demon Seed is that once a person is infected with a Demon Seed, their body becomes a host. They will then produce more seeds, unknowingly spreading them to others. So at that time, the Cultivation Realm killed anyone who had been seeded. But even with such measures, it was difficult to stop the spread of the seeds. The Cultivation Realm, finding no other choice, formed the Immortal Alliance to suppress the Demon Lord. But because he had no physical form, it was impossible to locate him. Every time they thought they had captured him, it turned out to be just a puppet.”
“What happened later?”
“Afterward… actually, I’m not quite sure,” Cuilu shook her head. “I only know that about five years before the death of Divine Lord Mingjing, the Demon Seeds had spread across most of the Cultivation Realm. I was almost killed by an evil demon on the way to eliminate them, but fortunately, I was saved by the Daoist Immortal Shangsui. With her guidance, I was on the verge of a breakthrough, so I entered seclusion to cultivate. After five years of seclusion, when I came out, the outside world had changed drastically.”
“How had it changed?”
Qin Wanwan listened with curiosity as Cuilu recalled the events. “At the time in my seclusion, I felt something was off. So I forced my breakthrough. After I came out, I saw white flowers hanging all over the city. Hua Rong was preparing for Divine Lord Mingjing’s funeral. The Divine Lord Mingjing was born into the Ning family, so his body was being sent back to the Ning clan for burial. I rushed forward to demand an explanation, and Hua Rong pulled me aside, quietly opening the coffin for me to take a look. When I peered inside, I realized the Divine Lord wasn’t dead. However, his body was surrounded by demonic energy, a kind I had never seen before—so powerful and oppressive. I didn’t dare say anything more. I just watched as Hua Rong handed the coffin over to the people of the Ning family, who took it back to Huangcheng.”
“Did Hua Rong explain the reason to you?”
Qin Wanwan finally understood why Cuilu was so certain that Lin Yanzhi was not dead.
“He told me that the entire Guicheng had been infected by the Demon Seeds, and the people were killing each other. So, the Divine Lord ordered the city to be sealed. But later on that night, the Divine Lord couldn’t bear to see so many people perish, so he discussed with the two Immortals, Shangsui and Taiheng. He decided to use his own body as a vessel, trying to trap the Demon Lord inside and extract the Demon Seeds from the citizens, absorbing the demonic energy into his own body to seal it. If he could subdue the demonic energy and completely seal the Demon Lord, that would be the best outcome. But if he couldn’t, he would kill both himself and the Demon Lord. Before doing this, he transferred all of his cultivation to Hua Rong and appointed him as the next City Lord of Guicheng. With the help of Daoist Shangsui and Taiheng, he succeeded in sealing the Demon Lord in his body and saved most of the people. However, those who couldn’t be saved…”
Cuilu finished reluctantly: “Was killed that night.”
“So,” Qin Wanwan concluded, “Divine Lord Mingjing did not massacre the city, and those who died were all people infected with Demon Seeds. Why didn’t you tell everyone about this? Why let him carry the burden of being known as the one who slaughtered the city?”
“Because the Demon Seeds struck fear into the entire cultivation world,” Cuilu explained. “If people had known that the people of Guicheng had all been infected with the Demon Seeds, they wouldn’t have cared whether those people had regained their sanity or not. They would have demanded that they all be killed.”
After all, the Divine Lord Mingjing indeed sealed the Demon Lord in his body and suppressed the demonic energy. He would likely be trapped in the Huangcheng for the rest of his life. So, everyone didn’t mind sacrificing his reputation for the greater good.
Qin Wanwan didn’t comment further. She simply asked, “Then what about the two Immortals, Shangsui and Taiheng?”
“I’ve never seen them again,” Cuilu shook her head. “No one knows where they went or when they left. They were extraordinary figures, arriving quietly and leaving without a word. But from what you’re saying,” Cuilu furrowed her brows, “it seems they didn’t return to find you?”
“No.”
Qin Wanwan shook her head, and the two fell silent. After a while, Cuilu asked again, “Did Hua Rong really tell you that he was the one who killed Divine Lord Mingjing?”
Qin Wanwan nodded and recounted everything that had happened, explaining the sequence of events in detail.
Cuilu said nothing more after hearing this. She paused to think for a moment before saying, “You should go back and rest. Let me think things over.”
“Okay. But Lord Cuilu, before I leave, I’ll trouble you to do me a favor.”
Cuilu looked up at her, and Qin Wanwan smiled awkwardly. “My identity is not known to others, so I kindly ask that you keep the fact that I’m related to the two Immortals a secret.”
“Certainly.”
It was not a big deal, Cuilu nodded unhesitatingly.
Qin Wanwan gave a respectful bow and bid her farewell. Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of her parents, and she didn’t wish to say more to Cuilu.
She returned to the City Lord’s mansion from the riverbank and asked a servant where Jian Xingzhi was. Once she had the answer, she headed off to find him.
As she walked along the path, Qin Wanwan’s mind was consumed with thoughts of everything that had happened— from her parents’ departure to her arrival here, the changes she’d undergone after meeting Jian Xingzhi, and now, seeing traces of her parents in the matters surrounding Hua Rong. She faintly felt as if there were an invisible thread, connecting it all together.
She pondered on it and arrived at the courtyard where Jian Xingzhi was. Thinking for a moment about how strong her body had become now, she clenched her fist, flexed her biceps, and patted them lightly. A terrifying suspicion began to form in her mind.
This broken system, could it be the opportunity her parents had found for her?
And then, did they also arrange for a coach to help her build strength and improve her physique?
T/N: This chapter is too big so I have divided it into two chapters.
What an unexpected development. Thank you for the update!