Ch 70: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

The moment those words left Yue Fubai’s mouth, Ying Tianhai and Lingyue were horrified!

They didn’t even have time to press Yue Fubai on how he knew—both turned at once to watch Mu Xing’s reaction.

They knew about this? How could they possibly know?

Ying Tianhai felt the matter slipping out of control.

He and Lingyue had intended to gloss over the issue of Mu Xing’s spiritual root, never imagining the other side already knew it was in Xiao Shu’s body.

If they knew that, then surely the truth—that someone had dug out Mu Xing’s root all those years ago—couldn’t be hidden either.

Mu Xing, though, merely raised his brows in surprise. Yue Fubai had only just learned the truth himself and hadn’t yet told him.

But it was nothing more than a brief moment of surprise.

He had never placed any hope in this pair of parents. As for the spiritual root, it had long since been taken from him; to him, it was already something cut off from the past, severing karma with them.

Since it was part of what he had cast aside, whether thrown away or given to another, what did it matter to him?

“So that’s how it is.” He even had the leisure to think of something else. “No wonder when I first met Ying Shu, I felt an odd sense of closeness.”

He had thought that closeness came from the subtle tug of bloodline. But now he realized it was likely because Ying Shu carried his spiritual root.

And Ying Shu’s strange fondness for him—probably for the same reason.

Seeing Mu Xing only slightly surprised, without any strong reaction, the couple felt a bit of relief.

Maybe there was still room to mend things?

Lingyue said cautiously, “Xiao Xing, your father and I can explain. Back then we were deceived by villains into harming you. But now we’ve learned the truth. Could you give us a chance to make amends?”

Her face was full of guilt, and it didn’t look false.

A mother’s guilt—it always struck a moving chord.

But to Yue Fubai, that expression was utterly laughable.

He burst out laughing. “Make amends? Too late!”

Ying Tianhai glared at him.

Yue Fubai only laughed harder, more triumphant.

“Trying to play the family card, are you? Maybe that works on others, but on Little Xingxing? Your tricks are useless.”

Seeing the couple still unwilling to give up, Yue Fubai sneered: “Do you even know what path Little Xingxing cultivates?”

Ying Tianhai had of course investigated. Once he learned Mu Xing was his son, he had looked into his experiences as thoroughly as he could.

But Yue Fubai had shielded him so well that all they could learn was what happened after he entered the Dongling Secret Realm.

From those scant scraps of information, Ying Tianhai guessed Mu Xing cultivated something similar to Yue Fubai’s own path.

But judging from Yue Fubai’s tone, could it be different?

Both pairs of eyes turned to Mu Xing. He met their gazes calmly. “I cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness.”

“Impossible!” Ying Tianhai denied at once. “How could you be cultivating ruthlessness? Even if you wanted an excuse, pick one more believable.”

In the information he had gathered, Mu Xing was clearly mild-tempered and distinct in personality—how could that be the ruthless path?

Mu Xing cast him a cold glance, lowered his eyes, and said no more.

He would only state the truth once.

Today’s fight belonged to his master.

Sure enough, Yue Fubai’s ridicule landed right on time: “Impossible? Ying Tianhai, and you still call yourself a grandmaster of the Immortal Dao? Has the Immortal Dao declined so far that you can’t even recognize the true Path of Ruthlessness, and only think of severing emotions as a shortcut?”

Ying Tianhai trembled.

He snapped his gaze to Mu Xing, his eyes glowing with spiritual light.

Mu Xing only felt the man’s gaze rest on him for a fleeting instant.

But within that instant, Ying Tianhai, as an Immortal Dao grandmaster, saw countless things.

He saw sun rise and moon set, spring grass grow and winter decay. The endless cycle of life and death, over and over again.

And there, amid all creation, stood Mu Xing in plain blue robes.

Part of the world, yet also a timeless witness to it all.

Unmoved by gain, unmoved by loss.

Ying Tianhai staggered back a step.

The usually unshakable master of the Yudao Sect, who never flinched even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, was now visibly pale.

“Brother Hai!” Lingyue quickly supported him. “What did you see?”

Ying Tianhai stared fixedly at Mu Xing. “The Path of Ruthlessness…”

Then he suddenly laughed aloud. “Hahahaha… The Path of Ruthlessness! My Yudao Sect has produced a natural ruthless-path prodigy, with the bearing of a saint!”

Yue Fubai’s voice cut coldly through his laughter. “Allow me to remind you: stop dreaming. Little Xingxing is my disciple. He has nothing to do with your Yudao Sect—not even a single spirit stone’s worth. To him, you’re just strangers who dug out his spiritual root and abandoned him at birth.”

Ying Tianhai ignored him, snapping his gaze back to Mu Xing. “You were born to walk the Immortal Dao. If you’re willing to return with me, you’ll be the sect heir of Yudao, admired by all. Mu Xing, will you come back with me?”

Mu Xing shook his head. “Sect Master Ying, since you know I cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness, you should also know such things hold no allure for me.”

Ying Tianhai seemed unable to accept this outcome.

To him, Yudao Sect losing a natural ruthless-path heir—one with a great chance of ascension—was far worse than losing the acknowledgment of his son.

But he was destined to lose both.

From the moment he learned Mu Xing cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness, Ying Tianhai knew there was no turning back.

“Brother Hai…” Lingyue looked at him worriedly.

Ying Tianhai’s expression was bleak, crushed by the blow. He murmured, “Is this retribution?”

“Most likely.” Yue Fubai smiled lazily, not bothering to hide his gloating.

“Oh right, back then it was Tianjizi who deliberately misled you, wasn’t it? You never went after him?”

Of course he had.

Tianjizi had simply said the hexagram at the time showed what it did, and perhaps he had made a mistake.

But who was Tianjizi? And this concerned the bloodline of a sect master—how could such a man simply “miscalculate”?

He admitted fault, offered heavy reparations. Yudao Sect, unwilling to go to war with the powerful Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion… or perhaps, in Ying Tianhai’s eyes, Mu Xing simply wasn’t worth tearing their faces for.

They didn’t say it aloud, but Yue Fubai and Mu Xing weren’t fools—they could guess it well enough.

Yue Fubai sneered outright: “If it had been me, if Tianjizi dared scheme against my Little Xingxing, I’d have stormed Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion on the spot, dug out his spiritual root, and made him pay in blood!”

“Ying Tianhai, you hypocritical coward! If all you wanted was a son, you already had one ready at hand. You Immortal Dao people are so fond of talking about cause and effect—then you should know that your bond of parent and child with Little Xingxing was severed sixteen years ago, by your own hands.”

His gaze was full of disgust as he glared at the couple. “Get out. Now.”

Blood filled Ying Tianhai’s eyes. “Tianjizi… damn that Tianjizi! Who—?”

The air in the empty room shimmered, and a figure stumbled into view.

It was Ying Shu, face streaked with tears.

“Xiao Shu!” Lingyue gasped. “How are you here?”

Ying Shu’s face was deathly pale. He lifted his right hand, holding a small, exquisite five-colored flag.

“The life-saving treasure you gave me… it hides my presence for half an hour. Even a grandmaster can’t sense me.” His lips trembled. “I heard you were going to meet Lianhua Jun, so I secretly followed. I never thought…”

Never thought he’d overhear such a shocking secret.

He turned in panic toward Mu Xing. “You—you’re my brother? And my spiritual root… it’s yours?”

Mu Xing thought the child looked rather pitiful. What sin was his?

He said gently, “In blood, yes. But in terms of cause and effect, there is no longer any connection between us. As for the root, it’s yours now.”

His tone was light, as if the spiritual root—so vital to a cultivator—were no more than a blade of grass to him.

“My…” Ying Shu muttered twice, then suddenly turned to glare at his parents. “Why did you do this back then? Why did you give his spiritual root to me?”

“Xiao Shu, it was a misunderstanding…” Lingyue stammered, just about to explain, when her eyes went wide—

“Xiao Shu!”

For Ying Shu, before anyone could react, had drawn a blade and stabbed it into the base of his own spine, prying out a radiant spiritual root.

Blood poured down in streams.

With a bitter smile, Ying Shu said, “Even if I can’t cultivate and must live as a mortal, I don’t want something stolen.”

With those words, he collapsed unconscious.

The couple had no more time for anything else. In a panic, they carried him away.

Mu Xing and Yue Fubai were both taken aback by the sudden turn of events.

After a long silence, Yue Fubai flicked his fan and said, “That boy… at least he’s got more backbone than those two so-called adults.”

❣╰(⸝⸝⸝꒳⸝⸝⸝)╯❣