Ch 71: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

Mu Xing quietly looked at the thing on the ground.

The spiritual root lay amid drops of blood, flawless like fine jade. Whether Ying Tianhai and Lingyue had left it behind in haste or deliberately, he did not know.

Yue Fubai asked, “Well? Do you want to take it back? It was yours to begin with—if you did, it would help your cultivation.”

Mu Xing shook his head. “No need.”

He crouched, took out a handkerchief, and carefully wrapped up the treasure that would make countless cultivators’ eyes burn with greed, placing it into a white jade box.

“Since it is the thing that severed our cause and effect, and the outcome now is exactly what I desire, why should I take it back only to invite more trouble?”

---

Yudao Immortal Sect.

Ying Tianhai and Lingyue returned with the bloodless Ying Shu in their arms.

They laid him on the bed. Lingyue’s face looked no better than her son’s, her whole body trembling. “How could we have let Xiao Shu hear this? Why… why is the child’s nature so fierce?”

Ying Tianhai frowned. “It’s because you’ve spoiled him too much. Overindulgence—he can’t withstand the smallest blow. Like this, how will he ever bear the weight of Yudao Sect’s future?”

Lingyue only wept silently, her face full of regret. It was unclear whether she regretted what had happened to Mu Xing, or whether she regretted pampering her younger son too much all these years.

Ying Tianhai, ever devoted to his wife, couldn’t bear it when he saw her so stricken. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said softly, “Don’t grieve too much, Ayue. A spiritual root isn’t entirely irreplaceable. Look—Mu Xing lost his root, but it hasn’t hindered his cultivation, has it?”

At the mention of Mu Xing, Lingyue’s heart grew even more conflicted.

“Brother Hai,” she asked blankly, “what are we to do about that child?”

Ying Tianhai’s eyes lowered, his voice sharp and cold: “Yue Fubai has ulterior motives! That child was destined to be a disciple of the Immortal Dao. I will find a way to bring him back!”

His face darkened further as a thought struck him. He said to his wife, “Lingyue, you take good care of Xiao Shu.”

Lingyue asked quickly, “At such a time, where are you going?”

A flash of killing intent lit Ying Tianhai’s eyes. “Naturally, to settle accounts with certain people.”

Lingyue understood instantly. “Tianjizi?”

Hatred flickered in her beautiful eyes as well. “Tianjizi deserves to die!”

Ying Tianhai said nothing more. His forefinger slid along his sword’s scabbard, pressing so hard it seemed as if he might smooth out its engraved patterns.

While Ying Tianhai went storming toward Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion, Yue Fubai went looking for Wuchang Jun.

Wuchang Jun was thoroughly irritated. “Yue Fubai, what are you bothering me for now?”

If Yue Fubai came to him, it was never for anything good—that was the conclusion he’d drawn after three hundred years of suffering from a bad friendship.

Yue Fubai beamed. “Oh, what’s with that face? I’m not here to ask for help this time. I came to invite you to a show.”

“A show?” Wuchang Jun said coldly. “Not interested.”

Yue Fubai wasn’t surprised, only lowered his voice, speaking mysteriously: “Really? You mean to say you don’t want to see the clash between Yudao Sect and Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion?”

Wuchang Jun slowly turned to look at him. “Yudao Sect? Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion? What have you done this time?”

It wasn’t strange he could see through at once—the man before him had far too many prior offenses.

And besides, whatever the true relations between the great Immortal sects, they always maintained appearances. How could they ever stage a fight for outsiders to gawk at?

Yue Fubai snorted. “For once, it’s not me. It’s just them tearing into each other.”

Wuchang Jun cut him off bluntly. “What do you want?”

Yue Fubai grinned. “Nothing much. Just that watching a show alone is boring—wouldn’t it be better with a friend to crack melon seeds with?”

Wuchang Jun: “…Tell the truth.”

Yue Fubai’s words sped up. “Your Youluo Hall is the best in the cultivation world at stealth and concealment. Take me along to watch the fun, won’t you?”

Wuchang Jun: “…”

---

But this time, Yue Fubai seemed to have miscalculated.

He had underestimated the depth of Ying Tianhai’s rage.

The sect master of Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion would not see visitors. Ying Tianhai, in full view of the sect’s disciples, drew his sword and struck at the protective mountain array.

The surge of spiritual light from the great array being violently assaulted shook the entire cultivation world.

From all directions, divine senses rose up, probing toward Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion.

And when they saw who was attacking—everyone gasped in horror. The Sect Master of Yudao!

What had happened!

---

Yue Fubai felt both regret and satisfaction.

Regret, because what he’d thought was his exclusive bit of gossip was now public knowledge.

Satisfaction, because the bigger the commotion, the better.

Ying Tianhai had not disappointed him. His fury was on full display before the entire world.

The sect master of Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion refused to appear. Ying Tianhai simply unleashed strike after strike against their mountain gate.

“Tianjizi,” Ying Tianhai roared with laughter, “if you want to drag this out, I don’t mind. After all, it isn’t my sect’s reputation being shredded.”

“Yudao Sect Master.” An elder of the Immortal Dao who had rushed over to mediate called out, “What has happened to anger you so? Whatever it is, let us all sit and discuss. Why give outsiders such a spectacle?”

But these words were already too late. The Demon sects had long since heard the news. Now, among the countless divine senses watching, who knew how many belonged to those of the Demon path.

The elder who spoke was a highly respected senior among the Immortal sects, normally one to whom all would give face.

But this time, Ying Tianhai didn’t even twitch an eyebrow.

“Tianjizi!” He slowly raised his sword, his voice ringing with fury. “The next strike, I will shatter Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion’s protective array!”

The onlookers erupted in an uproar, and the elder who had spoken earlier turned pale.

The guardian array was the very face of a sect. Ying Tianhai’s earlier strike had already signaled a complete break with Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion. If this next sword really landed, it would mean no reconciliation—only endless enmity.

Immediately, several divine senses revealed themselves:

“Master Ying, you mustn’t!”

“Calm down, let’s resolve this peacefully.”

“Please, restrain yourself, Master Ying!”

But Ying Tianhai’s expression was ice-cold. Spiritual power surged around him, shaking off the cultivators who tried to surround him. He lifted his sword.

A magnificent sword light descended from the ninth heaven, taking the form of a soaring dragon that thundered down toward Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion’s guardian array.

Boom!

The barrier that enveloped the entire snowy mountain shuddered violently for a few breaths, then shattered into countless motes of light.

Every disciple of Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion spat blood in unison.

“Master Ying!”

Now, many could no longer stand by. A number of cultivators stepped forward to block him. Others turned to question Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion’s disciples—why hadn’t Tianjizi appeared in such a dire situation?

“Stand aside!” Ying Tianhai roared.

Those who blocked his way were no nameless rabble, and even under Ying Tianhai’s fury, they stood their ground.

“Master Ying,” someone said gravely, “the Yudao Sect and Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion have always been close. What has happened that angers you so?”

Ying Tianhai’s eyes were cold.

Was he truly so enraged that he had lost all reason?

Of course not.

After returning from Yue Fubai, he had carefully analyzed Tianjizi’s motives.

He was certain—there was no enmity between Yudao Sect and Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion, nor between himself and Tianjizi personally.

So why had Tianjizi schemed against him?

He could not think of a reason.

But the fact that Tianjizi had plotted all along, and even now, at such a moment, still refused to show his face—proved it: Tianjizi had a secret.

And this secret could not bear the light of day.

By making the matter public, Ying Tianhai became the victim.

All gain, no loss.

Ying Tianhai said coldly, “If you want to know what happened, go ask Tianjizi.”

Channeling his spiritual power, his voice rolled like thunder across the snowy mountain: “Tianjizi! Your disciples bleed before you, and you still will not show yourself? I stand here, and yet you dare not face me?”

His shout reverberated again and again through the mountain. The weaker disciples of Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion clutched their ears, blood seeping from their noses and mouths, unable to withstand it.

Seeing this, someone shouted angrily, “Master Ying! Even if you have a private grievance with the sect master, why take it out on innocent disciples?”

Ying Tianhai said flatly, “Indeed. What private grievance could my child and I possibly have with your sect. aster? A dignified Immortal Venerable at the tribulation stage—and he schemed against a newborn child?”

What?!

Many gasped. A child!

No wonder the Sect Master was so furious.

Bloodlines were rare and precious among cultivators. For high-level cultivators especially, leaving behind bloodline descendants was a treasure beyond compare.

So the sect master of Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion had struck at Ying Tianhai’s child?

Many were bewildered as well. They had all heard of Yudao Sect’s young heir, said to be exceptionally talented, with a firm Dao heart. What had truly happened?

From the vast snowy mountain came a soft laugh.

Faces hardened everywhere—it was Tianjizi.

Sure enough, far in the distance, a white-clad figure walked slowly down from the mountain.

His movements were ethereal, his pace unhurried—yet in just two or three steps, he had crossed a vast distance and stood before the crowd.

But no one cared about his exquisite movement technique anymore.

All eyes widened in shock.

Beneath his white hair, the eyes staring back at them glowed a deep, blood-red.

Especially the disciples of Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion—at first, overjoyed to welcome their master, they collapsed into stunned silence the instant they saw those eyes. One after another, they fell to their knees.

Even Ying Tianhai was surprised.

But after surprise came a flicker of excitement.

He hid it well, speaking slowly: “Tianjizi, you’ve fallen into demonic corruption.”

This was not walking the Demon Dao, but rather a flaw in the Dao heart.

A cultivator’s Dao heart was everything. To damage it meant one could advance no further.

If the mind was open, Dao heart damage meant only stagnation. But if one could not let go, could not escape, they would fall into inner demons, gradually losing all reason.

That was corruption.

Tianjizi wore a smile.

He had always been like snow and ice, cold and aloof, a figure of godlike dignity. On his face, such a smile looked utterly unnatural.

With those eerie, blood-red eyes, Tianjizi’s entire being radiated a strange, fractured horror.

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