For the human, yao, and demon clans, Immortal Lord Fuguang was both a benefactor and the fulcrum that maintained the superficial peace of the Three Realms. Therefore, even when a new Demon King ascended to the throne, they had sent a letter to Fuguang Mountain as a gesture of their determination and sincerity.
No one had any objections to this matter, not even the Elders of the Jiutian Sect. The only one who had any concerns was the Fourth Elder, but he didn’t dare to voice his opposing opinion at this time. He turned his head to look at the Second Elder and Nan Feng, hoping that they would express their opposing opinions.
Nan Feng lowered his head and said nothing. Second Elder looked haggard, as if he had also lost hope, and the other Elders said nothing either.
The new sect master of the sect had succeeded to the position and had also received a congratulatory gift from Immortal Lord Fuguang. It was a good event for the Jiutian Sect to clear its name, but it ended up in such a mess.
The Elders had lived for nearly a thousand years, and most of them were Bu Ting’s sect uncles. They had watched Bu Ting make these mistakes with their own eyes, and they were disappointed and sad, but none of them had the face to stand up and shield him.
Seeing that no one was speaking, the Fourth Elder gritted his teeth and stepped forward. “The Immortal Lord dislikes being disturbed by others. If you were to bother the Immortal Lord about the matter of our sect’s previous sect master, it would be a minor matter if you angered the Immortal Lord, but I fear it would disturb the Immortal Lord’s secluded cultivation.”
Upon hearing this, everyone hesitated, unable to make up their minds.
“The Immortal Lord was able to live alone on Fuguang Mountain for five hundred and six years. If he were easily angered, how could he have provided spiritual power to the Ten Great Cauldrons for so many years?”
Everyone looked at Jiu Hui, who had spoken. They seemed surprised that she had spoken up.
“Fourth Elder says he’s afraid of disturbing the Immortal Lord’s cultivation, but then he says something about being angry.” Jiu Hui ignored the looks from the others and stared at the Fourth Elder. “From the sound of it, Fourth Elder, are you resentful that Immortal Lord Fuguang injured Immortal Venerable Bu?”
“I didn’t mean that, Miss Jiu Hui. Don’t slander me,” the Fourth Elder denied vehemently. “Immortal Lord Fuguang has done so much for the world. How could I dare to complain?”
“It’s not that I don’t dare, it’s that I can’t.” Jiu Hui didn’t give an inch. “Since the Fourth Elder has such a big grievance, then please ask Immortal Lord Fuguang to come out of seclusion. You can go guard the Ten Immortal Cauldrons and transport spiritual energy for the world to suppress the bad luck.”
“You!” The Fourth Elder’s face flushed red. He turned his head to look at Yu Jing. “Pavilion Master Yu, is this the kind of disciple you’ve taught? Sharp-tongued and disrespectful to her elders. Truly ill-mannered.”
“Please forgive this Fourth Elder. This child is exceptionally talented, but her personality has always been stubborn. Our Wangshu Pavilion has an ancestral rule that we must love our disciples when they’re out and teach them when they come back.”
Yu Jing smiled slightly, bowed, and spoke in an extremely gentle tone: “Fourth Elder respects his elders so much that he certainly wouldn’t bear to see me violate my elders’ rule, right? Why don’t you bear with it for now? When we get back, I’ll definitely teach her a lesson and break her legs to vent your anger?”
When the disciple get into trouble, the ancestor could take the blame. Anyway, the ancestor had already passed away, so taking the blame a few more times wouldn’t crush him.
After hearing Yu Jing’s absurdly perfunctory words, the Fourth Elder took two deep breaths. “Very well, very well. Now is not the time for your Wangshu Pavilion to come to Jiutian Sect to ask for subsidies, is it?”
“Fourth Elder, our Wangshu Pavilion came to your esteemed sect to collect the subsidy, which was agreed upon after careful consideration by your sect’s council.” Jiu Hui looked bewildered. “This junior is young and inexperienced, but does your sect’s major and minor affairs all depend on the Fourth Elder’s decision, rather than being jointly discussed by the sect master and the various elders?”
“Oh, I see!” Jiu Hui widened her eyes and covered her mouth in astonishment as she looked at the Fourth Elder. “You wouldn’t think that Sect Master Nan Feng is young and want to seize his power just because of your seniority, would you?”
“How can we, as cultivators, be so greedy for power?” Jiu Hui was heartbroken. “Elder, you are a sword cultivator, and you should not have such greed. If you continue like this, how can you attain the Great Dao and ascend to immortality?”
“Nonsense!” The Fourth Elder summoned his natal sword. “Today, this old man will cleanse the Wangshu Pavilion of your presence!”
“I’m still here, so I’m afraid I don’t need Fourth Elder to teach my disciple for me.” Yu Jing waved her hand, and her spirit sword appeared in her hand. Her tone was still gentle. “Does Fourth Elder want to bully others in front of so many people?”
“The Fourth Elder is nothing more than an elder of the Jiutian Sect. He was criticized by a junior and became so furious.” Jiu Hui’s expression turned cold as she looked at the Fourth Elder.
“Immortal Lord Fuguang has dedicated his life to protecting all living beings, enduring the pain of spiritual energy coursing through his meridians every day. Yet, he is slandered by you, Elder. The one who should be truly angry is Immortal Lord Fuguang, not you!”
Zhi You was slightly taken aback and looked at Jiu Hui, whose face was as cold as ice.
In the past, Jiu Hui rarely acted so aggressively in front of others, and even spoke without reservation. It turned out that it was for him.
“Miss Jiu Hui is right. The Fourth Elder was wrong.” Second Elder stepped forward and slapped the Fourth Elder’s sword away with a palm. “I will apologize to Immortal Lord Fuguang on his behalf and to the young lady.”
“Second Elder acts fairly and has a kind heart. I don’t deserve your courtesy.” Jiu Hui stepped aside to avoid the Second Elder’s bow. A smile returned to her face as she bowed to the Second Elder and said, “I have a small immature suggestion.”
Upon hearing the words “small immature suggestion,” the Sect Master of Wenxing School and the Sect Master of Wanhuo School recalled at the same time that Jiu Hui’s last immature idea was to cast the Qi of Extreme Evil into the evil yao Chi Quan. In the end, the Qi of Extreme Evil got devoured by Chi Quan, and Chi Quan’s cultivation greatly decreased. He had died an unclear death, and to this day, it had not been determined who killed Chi Quan.
“Why don’t you write to the Immortal Lord and wait for his reply?” Jiu Hui lowered her eyelids, her tone indifferent. “Moreover, if Immortal Venerable Bu has the intention to repent, then he should go to Fuguang Mountain and kneel. If the Immortal Lord is unwilling to see him for a day, then he should kneel for a day. If the Immortal Lord doesn’t see him for ten days, then he should kneel for ten days.”
“As the saying goes, patience will be rewarded. One day, the Immortal Lord will be moved by his sincerity.” Jiu Hui paused slightly. “For the sake of justice and righteousness, the young City Lord of Manxiang City lost her life. Big sister Yu Luan and her mother are separated forever. What does it matter if Immortal Venerable Bu kneel for a few more days?”
“The cultivators of the world must know that whether they are Immortal Venerables or ordinary cultivators, they will be punished if they commit evil deeds.” Jiu Hui looked at the sect’s head disciples and core disciples present. “Otherwise, if I follow in the footsteps of the Immortal Venerable today, and he follows in the footsteps of the Immortal Venerable tomorrow, and everyone follows in the footsteps of the Immortal Venerable the day after, wouldn’t the world be in chaos?”
“Fellow Daoist Jiu Hui is right,” Pingling Yao said. “I will write a letter and ask Immortal Lord Fuguang for instructions.”
After she finished speaking, she took out a jade slip and, as if afraid of being stopped, quickly made a gesture with her hand. The jade slip turned into a stream of light and flew towards Fuguang Mountain.
Everyone saw that the jade slip was prepared in advance, and they secretly sighed, “Wow, they were well-prepared!”
The jade slip had already been taken out, so further discussion was useless. However, no one left because Bu Ting had a high cultivation level, and they were afraid that he would escape.
What they did not expect was that Bu Ting stood silently to the side, neither opposing Pingling Yao’s reporting to Fuguang Mountain nor refuting Jiu Hui’s words. It was as if he had accepted all the accusations, or as if all the words had not entered his ears.
The one who looked the most distressed was Nan Feng. He gazed at Bu Ting with a pale face, hoping that he would say something, even if it was just a few words of explanation.
But Bu Ting said nothing, and the light in Nan Feng’s eyes gradually dimmed as he stood woodenly in the corner.
The courtyard fell completely silent, with nothing but the sound of the wind.
After an unknown amount of time, a bright light streaked across the sky. Everyone looked up in unison and saw the light circling above the courtyard before finally hovering in front of the Second Elder.
“You all can come to Fuguang Mountain for a chat.“carpreads.pages.dev
The brief sentence seemed to provide everyone with a backbone. They took out their flying magic weapons one after another, preparing to rush to Fuguang Mountain.
“Apologies.” Several sect masters approached Bu Ting and cast several spells on him to prevent him from escaping before taking him aboard the flying boat.
“Zhi You,” Yu Jing suddenly said, “For the trip to Fuguang Mountain, Jiu Hui and I will go. You can return to the guest house to accompany your Senior Brothers and Sisters.”
Zhi You looked up at Yu Jing and Jiu Hui on the flying sword and cupped his hands in salute. “Yes.”
After watching him leave the courtyard, Yu Jing turned to Jiu Hui and said, “Let’s go.”
As they neared Fuguang Mountain, Yuan Wo’s flying sword drew close to Jiu Hui. He looked at the surging gale and icy snow ahead, rubbing his hands together as he said, “This is my first time setting foot on Fuguang Mountain’s territory. I wonder what’s inside?”
He looked at Jiu Hui, and Jiu Hui looked at Jin Qingqiu, who was also very close to them.
“Oh, I forgot. Even though your Wangshu Pavilion is closer to Fuguang Mountain than we are, you definitely haven’t been inside either.” Yuan Wo came back to his senses and immediately looked at Jin Qingqiu. “Young Master Jin, do you know?”
“You’ll know once we go in.” Jin Qingqiu put away the jade fan he was playing with and straightened his robes. “It’s not some blessed land anyway.”
The flying boat holding Bu Ting flew through the wind and snow. With the tokens of the Ten Great Sects leading the way, the wind and snow instantly diminished.
Yuan Wo watched the hurricane that was rolling like a mad dragon beside him and couldn’t help but shiver. If he had not entered here with a token, wouldn’t he have been shredded by the wind?
He didn’t know how long he had been flying in the snowstorm, but he finally passed through the snowstorm formation. As soon as his toes touched the ground, Yuan Wo felt a bone-chilling cold, and the overly dense spiritual energy made it almost impossible for him to breathe.
As a cultivator, he hadn’t felt cold for a long time. He crossed his arms over his chest, shivering and drawing his head in. “How come these snowflakes feel like they’re drilling into my bones?”
“These snowflakes are all formed by the convergence of the world’s spiritual energy. Our cultivation is limited, so naturally we can’t withstand this kind of spiritual cold.” Jin Qingqiu took out a large cloak from his storage ring and threw it to Yuan Wo. “Your cultivation is insufficient. If you stay here for half an hour, you’ll freeze into a snowman.”
“Many thanks to Young Master Jin.” Yuan Wo wrapped the cloak around himself, and the bone-chilling cold finally subsided quite a bit.
“Take this too.” Pingling Yao tossed a warming magic weapon to Yuan Wo. “Your cultivation is lacking, and yet you dare to follow us here. You really don’t value your life.”
Yuan Wo held the warming magic weapon and dared not speak. He secretly glanced at the others, whose expressions were as usual. It turned out that he was the only useless one.
“Stop looking. Actually, they feel cold too,” Jiu Hui whispered to him. “They can’t stand this kind of spirit snow, but they’re just trying to save face.”
Yuan Wo looked at the empty, snow-covered ground and the stiff, creepy puppets around him. He couldn’t help but say, “Immortal Lord Fuguang lives alone… in a place like this?”
The Fuguang Palace looked exquisite and magnificent, but even the prison cells where the City Lord’s Mansion held criminals didn’t have such a harsh climate.
Yuan Wo thought that his past self was already shameless enough, but he never expected the ten major sects and Zhenxing Tower to do something even more unscrupulous. The snow beneath his feet was slippery, and Yuan Wo’s foot slipped. If Jiu Hui hadn’t grabbed the back of his collar in time, he would have fallen to the ground.
“Immortal Lord Fuguang has suppressed the Immortal Cauldron for the world for five hundred years, but the Ten Great Sects and Zhenxing Tower have let him endure the wind and snow every day?!”
From the outside, Fuguang Mountain only seemed to have a luxurious palace and beautiful snowy mountains, but after entering, one would realize what a hellish place it was.
“When Immortal Lord Fuguang was brought to the mountain, he was still a baby, right?” Yuan Wo couldn’t help but ask, feeling dizzy from the cold as he looked at the seemingly endless expanse of snow. “Didn’t their conscience hurt, leaving a newborn baby in a place like this?”
Jiu Hui raised an eyebrow and scoffed.
If people couldn’t come to Fuguang Mountain, then how many people would be able to understand the suffering Fuguang had endured?
Author’s Note
Yu Jing: Since you respect the elders so much, then you must also respect the elders of our Wangshu Pavilion, right?
Little Garlic Chive: What face do you want? I’ll tear it off!