Chapter 10: Cause and Complications
Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Cause and Complications
CREAK~
He didn’t have to wait long in the small courtyard before Meng Qingyi pushed the door open and walked in.
"Fellow Daoist Li, my apologies for the wait," Meng Qingyi said with a smile, though there was a hint of barely perceptible awkwardness in her eyes.
Li Ping stood up. His impression of Meng Qingyi was actually quite good, so he just shook his head and smiled. "You’re too kind, Fairy Meng. I haven’t been waiting long at all."
"That’s good."
Instead of rushing to see Li Ping off, Meng Qingyi invited him to sit down and took the initiative to explain why that Sword Cultivator, Senior Sister Dai, had summoned him for questioning and had been so impolite.
After listening to her explanation, it all finally made sense to Li Ping.
As it turned out, Senior Sister Dai—Meng Qingyi’s senior—had a highly prized disciple, a genius who possessed a Dual Spirit Root.
With the talent of a Dual Spirit Root, on top of the vast cultivation resources provided by the Cyan Dragon Mountain lineage, she had reached the Peak of Qi Refining before the age of twenty-five and was qualified to attempt a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.
A little over three months ago, Senior Sister Dai gave her disciple a Foundation Establishment Pill, hoping she would successfully break through and add another Foundation Establishment Cultivator to the Cyan Dragon Mountain lineage.
But who would have predicted that this disciple, named Lin Yue, would be abducted shortly thereafter.
Not only were all her valuables plundered, but the man also defiled her, taking the chastity she had preserved for twenty-five years. He then tortured her for more than ten days before finally releasing her!
The man didn’t kill her in the end, but the trauma was so great that Lin Yue was driven to madness.
Her most prized disciple, a promising candidate for Foundation Establishment, had been ruined just like that. One can only imagine Senior Sister Dai’s fury; she wanted nothing more than to slice the culprit into a thousand pieces.
Unfortunately, the perpetrator was exceptionally mysterious. Despite mobilizing all its resources, the Cyan Dragon Mountain lineage failed to uncover his true identity.
This continued until they saw the report on Li Ping’s successful Foundation Establishment, which stated he had used a Foundation Establishment Pill bought from the black market.
This immediately caught Senior Sister Dai’s attention, and she promptly ordered someone to ’invite’ him back for questioning.
If he had turned out to be the mysterious culprit, or had any real connection to him...
...his head would have already rolled by now.
...
"Fellow Daoist Li, Senior Sister Dai is normally a very kind person. There was a genuine reason for her poor attitude today, so I hope you won’t take it to heart." Meng Qingyi once again tried to smooth things over on her senior sister’s behalf.
After hearing Meng Qingyi’s words, Li Ping couldn’t help but scoff internally. ’A kind Sword Cultivator? Yeah, right. As if I’d believe that nonsense.’
’Still, how did Senior Sister Dai determine that I was telling the truth?’
He immediately recalled the moment he’d walked into the grand hall, when Senior Sister Dai’s Flying Sword had stopped right in front of him, making his hair stand on end. ’It was the Flying Sword! Perhaps she can use her life-bonded Flying Sword to judge whether I’m telling the truth or not.’
The thought made Li Ping break out in a cold sweat.
Luckily, he was an honest person and had answered all her questions truthfully.
Otherwise, it was hard to say whether he’d still be sitting here in one piece.
It was also fortunate that Senior Sister Dai’s questions were all about his background and past experiences, and didn’t touch upon his transmigration or the Purple Qi Space in his sea of consciousness.
’Otherwise... the consequences would have been unimaginable.’
’I got lucky this time, but what about next time?’
’So Sword Cultivators have abilities like that... Senior Sister Dai is too dangerous. I have too many secrets. I’d better stay far away from her from now on!’ Li Ping resolved in his heart.
He showed none of this on his face, however. Instead, he put on a sympathetic expression. "So that’s what happened. How could someone be so depraved as to use such cruel methods on a Qi Refining Cultivator? It’s the pure work of the Demon Dao, the behavior of an animal! A fiend that everyone should have the right to execute!"
Meng Qingyi nodded in agreement, her eyes filled with hatred. "If that fiend ever falls into my hands, I will see to it that his very soul is annihilated!"
During their conversation, by unspoken agreement, neither of them brought up the matter of Li Ping’s Foundation Establishment again.
After all, even if Li Ping hadn’t known about Lin Yue’s ordeal beforehand, they both understood the situation deep down.
His Foundation Establishment Pill was, in all likelihood, the very one stolen from Lin Yue.
His successful breakthrough to Foundation Establishment was inextricably linked to Lin Yue’s tragic fate.
To be precise, he was the beneficiary of this whole affair, albeit one who had been dragged into it for no clear reason. Besides, he had already used the Foundation Establishment Pill.
It wouldn’t have been right for Senior Sister Dai and the others to take their anger out on him for that reason.
Of course, that didn’t mean they would give him a warm reception, either.
...
"Senior Sister Dai was already preparing to enter seclusion to attempt her breakthrough to the Core Formation realm," Meng Qingyi said with a sigh. "But at this critical juncture, this happened to Senior Niece Lin Yue, which has caused a flaw to appear in Senior Sister Dai’s state of mind. She is a Sword Cultivator, and they value Sword Heart Clarity above all else. If she cannot slay that fiend and clear this obstruction from her mind, she will likely never have another chance to break through to Core Formation in her lifetime."
Hearing this, an unconscious look of surprise appeared on Li Ping’s face.
A suspicion began to form in his mind.
’Perhaps the mysterious assailant committed such a cruel act against Lin Yue precisely to target Senior Sister Dai.’
’Their goal... was to prevent Senior Sister Dai from reaching Core Formation!’
’If Senior Sister Dai successfully reaches Core Formation, her strength as a Sword Cultivator would surely surpass that of other cultivators at the same level.’
’With an additional Core Formation Sword Cultivator, the overall power of Cyan Dragon Mountain would naturally swell.’
’Following the principle that the one who benefits most is the prime suspect... who would do such a thing?’
’The Chi, Ji, and Yue Kingdoms... these three nations border Fenglan Immortal City, and each possesses a Tier Three Spirit Vein presided over by a Core Formation Cultivator.’
’If the Cyan Dragon Mountain lineage were to produce another Core Formation Sword Cultivator, the threat to these kingdoms would obviously increase dramatically.’
...
Though it was just wild speculation, Li Ping found himself increasingly convinced by his own reasoning.
Someone was targeting the Cyan Dragon Mountain lineage, and the situation in Fenglan Immortal City was probably not as peaceful as it seemed on the surface.
’I have too many secrets, and on top of that, some mysterious power is stirring up trouble...’ Li Ping made up his mind.
’I can’t be an Honored Guest Elder for the Cyan Dragon Mountain lineage. From now on, I’ll just stick to being a Loose Cultivator.’
’At least if trouble really starts and I have to run for it, a Loose Cultivator’s identity is more convenient.’
’I won’t wait ten days. I’ll reject the Honored Guest Elder position today!’ Li Ping thought to himself.
But to his surprise, before he could even speak...
...Fairy Meng was already looking at him apologetically. "Fellow Daoist Li," she said, a bit embarrassed, "regarding you becoming an Honored Guest Elder for my Cyan Dragon Mountain lineage... I’m afraid I have to apologize."