Chapter 51: Chapter 50: Ten Years Adrift, He Asked Me to Ferry You

Martial Saint Pavilion, as the name suggests, is composed of a group of cultivators who have gathered under him out of reverence for the Martial Saint.

Another layer of meaning is to regard martial prowess as sacred.

Within the Martial Saint Pavilion, many have transformed from commoners practicing martial arts to entering the Spiritual Dao, with Mu Zhao himself as their representative and spiritual leader.

The members of the Martial Saint Pavilion worship Mu Zhao with extreme fervor, obeying his every command.

However, due to their different backgrounds, the Martial Saint Pavilion has significant influence among cultivators.

Once a bounty is issued by the Martial Saint Pavilion, it basically means being an enemy of the entire cultivation realm.

The Martial Saint is truly furious.

Not only does he want him dead, but he also wants to leave him without a place to call home!

With the Martial Saint’s words as good as gold, once labeled as an "evil cultivator," one’s fate is sealed, with no chance for redemption.

Wei Yan’s eyelids twitched, and he had already sentenced Chen Kuang in his heart.

This person is audacious beyond measure, daring to claim to be the Buddha’s Son and deceive people, truly lacking awareness of his limits. Why kill anyone else but Li Hongling.

Everyone present knows that, with Li Hongling’s personality, she must have offended the other party first, attracting fatal retaliation.

Killing someone even on the run is an utter determination—and it must have been a severe offense.

But Mu Zhao doesn’t care.

His Dao is "domination."

He wants to protect his disciple and her posthumous reputation, disregarding right or wrong, simply labeling one an "evil cultivator."

An evil cultivator, naturally, everything they do or say is wrong.

There is no need for a reason to kill an evil cultivator.

Wei Yan’s eyes flickered, he bowed and solemnly said:

"This person should have been among Liang Kingdom’s prisoners earlier. I will immediately investigate his identity and present it to the esteemed members of Martial Saint Pavilion."

Mu Zhao glanced at him, nodding:

"Di Wu should be at Jishao County’s Wind and Rain Pavilion, you can pass it to him."

Wei Yan hurriedly nodded.

Mu Zhao waved his hand, and gentle glimmers enveloped Li Hongling’s corpse, piecing it together to its complete form before death.

This thin Primordial Spirit was so weak that even such a simple act made it turn nearly transparent, about to dissipate.

The Martial Saint merged into the glow, disappearing with the corpse.

Wei Yan breathed a heavy sigh of relief, looking at the chaotic scene in the morning light, feeling a touch of desolation and fatigue.

Everyone was dead...

Yet such a mess is left for him, alone, to clean up.

"Elder Wei."

A cold female voice suddenly sounded.

Wei Yan’s heart skipped, turning to see Shen Xingzhu, absent for a night.

Once finding the Daoist of Mystic God Daoist Sect incredibly troublesome, now he felt a rare sense of familiarity...

"Daoist."

Unlike Wei Su, Wei Yan dared not call her "fellow Daoist" lightly, clasping hands, smiling wryly: "The battle here is over, is there anything else to explain?"

Shen Xingzhu nodded slightly, with a weighty gaze.

"I’ve notified my sect’s elders to come. Next, Liang Imperial City will temporarily be under our Mystic God Daoist Sect’s management; please lead the remaining members of Three Tribulations Sect away first."

Wei Yan’s expression changed instantly, staring at her: "Daoist, what do you mean by this?!"

"Your Mystic God Daoist Sect claims neutrality, and now the battle is over, yet you intend to interfere; there’s no sense in this!"

Shen Xingzhu shook her head, calmly saying:

"Elder Wei misunderstood; I have no intention to interfere in Zhou Liang’s matters."

"What I mean by management is not concerning imperial power allocation, but merely... the Imperial Palace."

Wei Yan still didn’t understand, frowning: "The Imperial Palace... what’s there to manage?"

Suddenly, Shen Xingzhu drew her longsword.

Wei Yan’s pupils shrank; before he could react, he saw her slash through the ruined Imperial City.

"Boom..."

The Imperial City completely collapsed.

Beneath, an extremely malicious and terrifying aura spread out.

Wei Yan looked closer and saw beneath the cracks beneath his feet, below the Imperial City, a massive, indescribably twisted monstrous form, tearing and contorting, with a gigantic eye faintly visible...

Wei Yan’s back was drenched in cold sweat, his eyes wide in astonishment, exclaiming:

"What... what is this?! Daoist, what have you released?!"

"Elder Wei need not be alarmed."

"This demon is without mind."

Shen Xingzhu softly said: "This is the husk of an ancient great demon..."

Wei Yan was taken aback: "A husk?"

Shen Xingzhu sheathed her sword, sighing: "Yes, perhaps no one expected..."

"Underneath this Imperial City was merely the husk of an ancient great demon, possessing only aura and might, fundamentally lacking consciousness."

Wei Yan regained his composure, dazedly asked: "Then, where did its consciousness go?"

"Probably..."

She paused, gazing out at the distant woods, murmuring: "Already escaped."

Shen Xingzhu squinted: "Maybe, this National Defense Barrier was never meant to prevent external invasion, but to prevent someone from escaping."

Wei Yan did not understand, his head pounding, hurriedly looked away from the husk of the great demon.

Shen Xingzhu seemed to mutter: "Elder Wei, do you know when Lady Liang became Lady Liang? She wasn’t the daughter of nobility, nor did she enjoy Su Yu’s favor, yet, inexplicably secured her position as Lady Liang."

"What?"

Wei Yan clutched his head, feeling dizzy, rubbing his nose, only to find he was bleeding from all seven apertures.

Alarm surged within him.

The might of this great demon is overwhelmingly terrifying; even a mere husk is difficult to gaze upon.

Surely, this is not a situation the Three Tribulations Sect can handle...

Shen Xingzhu shook her head:

"No, it’s nothing..."

"Elder Wei, you mentioned earlier, wanting to investigate that person’s identity, could you also spare me a copy when it’s completed?"

"Daoist also wants to take on the bounty?"

The woman’s cool gaze seemed amused: "Elder Wei jests, I do not kill those without fault."

...

Chen Kuang looked at the Raincoat Fisherman for a long while, finally unable to hold back.

"Why does Senior Brother think I have met the Music Saint?"

The Raincoat Fisherman asked in surprise: "What makes Junior Brother say so? Isn’t the old fellow’s zither right in front of you?"

Chen Kuang silently looked at Dragon’s Gums, rubbing his forehead:

"So this zither, was made from your teeth, Senior Brother?"

The Raincoat Fisherman chuckled, with bubbling sounds:

"Naturally."

Yet, this zither wasn’t gifted by the Music Saint, but rather "conned" by himself.

Upon reflection, if it hadn’t come from the Music Saint, collected by Su Yu, there would be no chance of it arriving in Chen Kuang’s hands.

Chen Kuang tried to make sense of the bizarre logic from their first meeting.

"Just having the zither doesn’t mean knowing him..."

"But Junior Brother carries that old fellow’s intent within."

Chen Kuang was taken aback.

Zither’s intent?

An ominous feeling arose.

Zither’s intent must stem from imparted skills, incidental in its emergence.

And, only two people taught him zither skills.

One was that Nameless Musician, the other was a musician in Taichang Temple’s education temple.

The latter had perished in the great hall...

Thus, only the Nameless Musician who bought him from his parents remained.

Chen Kuang fell into silence.

Was the Nameless Musician truly the Music Saint Xi Mengquan?

His gums throbbed.

If this is true, then Xi Mengquan foresaw today’s scenario ten years ago?

"Senior Brother thinks I am Junior Brother... because, to you, we share a common master?" He asked.

The Raincoat Fisherman’s eyes grew increasingly peculiar, seeing a look one gives to a fool.

"Naturally, besides, you call me Senior Brother, do you not?"

No, I was just saying that casually...

Chen Kuang dared not express it.

He took a deep breath: "Master, is Xi Mengquan?"

The Raincoat Fisherman patted his tail, losing interest in Junior Brother’s nonsense: "That old fellow instructed me to wait in this river, and I have rowed along the Imperial City shores for ten years."

"A decade of harsh waves."

"He bade me to ferry you, so you may ascend to Qingyun."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com