Chapter 423: The Gloomy Forest

Lu Geng brought Duan Rong to the Inner Courtyard of the Scripture Repository once again. Last time they came, he hadn't yet had the chance to explain the division of the various areas to Duan Rong before Duan Rong had gone and picked out a set of the Six Harmonies Blade manual.

Lu Geng stood there, looking at Duan Rong, and introduced with a serious expression: "Junior Disciple, you use a blade. These shelves here are all blade techniques, and those two shelves over there are as well. You can take your time choosing."

Duan Rong smiled and said: "Many thanks, Senior Brother Lu. I will choose carefully."

Lu Geng nodded, and Duan Rong had already walked into the shelves, beginning to look through them slowly.

Seeing that Duan Rong seemed to be choosing seriously this time, Lu Geng prepared to leave.

But just as he turned and walked a few steps, the corner of his eye caught a figure emerging from the shelves he had just been at.

He had clearly seen that in that row of shelves, there was only Duan Rong.

Lu Geng stopped abruptly and turned his head back; sure enough, he saw Duan Rong holding a blade manual, having come out from the shelves and walking toward him.

Duan Rong walked closer.

Lu Geng stared at him blankly and asked: "What are you doing?"

Duan Rong gently extended the blade manual Secret Manual in his hand forward and said: "Ah, Senior Brother Lu, I've already finished choosing! It's this Roaming Dragon Clear Chant Blade."

The muscles on Lu Geng's face twitched; at this moment, he had an urge to hit someone.

He had thought Duan Rong would learn from the last lesson and properly choose a cultivation art; he hadn't expected him to still have this style. To be honest, this kid picking a cultivation art was just like playing around.

"Fine, Junior Disciple! If you're going to be like this, don't come looking for your Senior Brother for anything in the future!" After Lu Geng finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves and left, his face full of indignation.

Duan Rong stood there and sighed slightly, saying: "This Senior Brother Lu, such a big temper!"

In fact, Lu Geng's temper was already considered good.

However, Duan Rong was still very satisfied looking at the Roaming Dragon Clear Chant Blade manual in his hand. After registering and pressing his thumbprint at the guard's station, he left with the manual.

Duan Rong returned to his room on Yunfu Peak. Just as he sat down and picked up a teacup to take a sip of tea, he saw a graceful figure already standing at the doorway, saying in a sweet voice: "Oh~ Junior Disciple, haven't seen you for a few days. Have you been missing your Senior Sister?"

Duan Rong was startled and almost spilled the tea on himself.

As Fan Hongjiao spoke, she walked over with graceful steps, her hand already resting on Duan Rong's shoulder; that movement could not have been more natural.

Duan Rong immediately stood up in alarm, almost jumping, and squeezed a smile onto his face, looking at Fan Hongjiao and saying: "I wonder what business Senior Sister has with me? It was too much trouble for you to come in person; if you had just found a servant to call me, I would have gone over."

Seeing Duan Rong's appearance, Fan Hongjiao rolled her eyes at him and said: "That sounds nice. Alright, no more joking with you. Come with me to the Council Hall; the others are still waiting."

Duan Rong's heart stirred, and he said: "Has Master returned?"

"No! Master doesn't have the time to discuss matters with us every day. Let's go!"

As Fan Hongjiao spoke, she had already started walking out, and Duan Rong immediately followed.

This so-called Council Hall was the same not-too-large and somewhat crude room where Zhu He had first brought Duan Rong to meet Fan Hongjiao and the others.

When Fan Hongjiao led Duan Rong into that room, Wu Shidao and Lu Geng were already sitting there.

Moreover, besides the two of them, there was actually another person in the room sitting on a chair next to Lu Geng, eating a plate of fresh berries; juice was overflowing from the corners of his mouth as he ate.

As soon as that person saw Duan Rong following Fan Hongjiao inside, his eyes immediately lit up. He jumped down from the chair, walked over immediately, circled around Duan Rong, looked him over, and said: "You are the new Junior Disciple?"

Seeing the person before him—short in stature, neither fat nor thin, with a pair of dark eyes spinning around—Duan Rong guessed slightly and realized this person must be the Fourth Senior Brother, Wang Yue.

Duan Rong cupped his fists and smiled: "Are you Senior Brother Wang Yue?"

"Wang Yue? Senior Brother?" Wang Yue laughed out loud, turned his head to look at Lu Geng, and shouted: "Old Lu! Did you see that? Now there's someone calling me Senior Brother too!"

"Good, good Junior Disciple!" Wang Yue looked at Duan Rong, very happy. "If you have any trouble in the future, just use your Senior Brother's name; I'll help you settle it."

Wang Yue had been on Yunfu Peak for five years and had always been the Junior Disciple. Now that Duan Rong had finally arrived to take his place as the youngest, he was indeed very happy.

"Alright! Both of you sit down. We're still discussing serious business!" Lu Geng's expression was somewhat unpleasant as he swept his gaze over Duan Rong.

Wang Yue and Duan Rong then took their seats.

Wu Shidao's eyes flickered. Master hadn't been on the peak for these past few days, and Wang Yue had returned from handling matters at Shenyun Prefecture. According to custom, if Master wasn't there, he had to report to his Senior Brothers first.

For an occasion like this, Duan Rong had only arrived on the peak a few days ago and originally wouldn't have needed to be called, but Fan Hongjiao had specifically called Duan Rong over as well. Sitting there, Wu Shidao was still guessing at Fan Hongjiao's intentions.

Seeing that Wang Yue and Duan Rong had both taken their seats, Fan Hongjiao asked: "Wang Yue, tell us, what is the situation at Shenyun Prefecture now? Can the candidate for the Secretariat Director be settled properly?"

Sitting there, Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat upon hearing Fan Hongjiao's words. So, Wang Yue had gone to Shenyun Prefecture for the matter of the next Secretariat Director candidate.

In fact, counting it up, it had only been a little over a month since Duan Rong had closed the case and left Shenyun Prefecture. Since the case was already closed, the issue of the next Secretariat Director candidate naturally had to be put on the agenda.

Wang Yue sighed and said: "We simply can't see eye to eye. They don't agree with the two candidates we proposed. And we can't possibly acknowledge the people they proposed. I think we should just let that Wang Maochun hold the position concurrently."

Fan Hongjiao slapped the side table with a 'pa' sound, puffed out her chest, and said: "Master shouldn't have made concessions to them. We propose a person; why do we still need them to agree?"

Wu Shidao and Wang Yue looked at each other, both having a headache over Fan Hongjiao's explosive temper. Even Master's decisions she dared to criticize; on this Yunfu Peak, only she had the guts for it.

Wang Yue chimed in: "Zhu Shizhong was killed because they played tricks. Master's meaning is that there's no point in all this back-and-forth; it's better to just choose someone both sides can accept to stabilize the situation."

Fan Hongjiao glanced at Wang Yue and said: "Zhu Shizhong was killed by them? Are you sure?"

Upon hearing this, for some reason, Wang Yue turned his head to look at Duan Rong and said: "This matter is certain."

Fan Hongjiao said: "Then what is there to discuss with them!?"

Wu Shidao looked at Fan Hongjiao and said: "Senior Sister Fan, please calm down. This is Master's decision. In the current situation, as long as we remain stable, the position of the next Sect Master will basically be secured for Yunfu Peak. As long as they don't push their luck, there's no need to resort to a major fight."

Fan Hongjiao said: "Killing Zhu Shizhong, isn't that pushing their luck?"

Wu Shidao: "Didn't we also kill the Grand Protector Xue Wen?"

Fan Hongjiao rolled her eyes at Wu Shidao and said: "Wasn't that done by you? Didn't Master praise you for being airtight? They have no evidence, so they can't blame it on us."

Wu Shidao: "No evidence, but one can guess."

Fan Hongjiao finally sat there and stopped talking. Only then did Wu Shidao look at Wang Yue and say: "Junior Disciple Wang Yue, tell us in detail about the situation over there."

Wang Yue then carefully recounted the entire sequence of events from his time at Shenyun Prefecture.

Duan Rong could see that, apart from Wu Shidao listening very carefully, Fan Hongjiao and Lu Geng were becoming somewhat distracted as they listened.

After Wang Yue finished speaking, Wu Shidao nodded lightly.

At this moment, Wang Yue turned his head to look at Duan Rong and smiled: "Junior Disciple, your reputation is thunderous in Shenyun Prefecture! 'Thunder God Duan'! 'Star Picker'!"

Fan Hongjiao's lazy eyes instantly lit up, and she asked: "What 'Thunder God Duan'? 'Star Picker'? Junior Disciple Wang Yue, what are you talking about?"

Regarding the closing documents for the Zhu Shizhong case, Shenyun Prefecture had only sent one copy to Zhu He. Because Zhu He was busy, he hadn't informed his disciples about this matter, and they had all been cultivating in the mountains for the past month, so they were unaware of the details of this affair.

Wang Yue then smiled and recounted how, one month ago in Shenyun Prefecture, Duan Rong had drawn down heavenly lightning to prove that Zhu Shizhong had died of murder.

After hearing Wang Yue's account, Fan Hongjiao, Wu Shidao, and Lu Geng all looked at Duan Rong with expressions of astonishment.

Lu Geng's expression was also somewhat exaggerated at this moment, and he said, "Drawn down heavenly lightning? Duan the Thunder God?! Wang Yue, are you telling us a fairy tale?"

Wang Yue, however, said, "On the surface, Zhu Shizhong looked like he died from a lightning strike! That was the insidious part of the opposition's plan; they almost fooled everyone. If it weren't for our Disciple's superior intellect in discovering that those craftsmen had tampered with the roof of the cool room to draw down the lightning and strike Zhu Shizhong dead, this matter might truly have been glossed over by them."

Seeing Wang Yue speak this way, Lu Geng was finally convinced that he was not spouting nonsense.

Looking at it this way, it was no wonder the Master had gifted two bottles of Origin Beast Bone Marrow Gray Matter the moment Duan Rong entered Yunfu Peak! Lu Geng had felt a bit sour in his heart at first, but now it seemed that it was something Duan Rong truly deserved.

Being able to confirm that Zhu Shizhong died of murder was actually very important for the current power struggle within Shenyun Prefecture. Once it could be confirmed that Zhu Shizhong was murdered, it became clear who had killed him.

Then this matter was of the same nature as the murder of the Grand Protector Xue Wen.

In terms of the situation, it was a tit-for-tat, a draw!

If it could not be confirmed that Zhu Shizhong died of murder, then it would have to be counted as a natural disaster! And that would have nothing to do with the opposition!

Then, the situation of the power struggle would be an entirely different scenario.

If one were to use a game of chess as a metaphor, Duan Rong had clearly played an extremely crucial move! Once this piece was placed, the situation immediately changed!

Lu Geng's gaze toward Duan Rong kept shifting.

This Disciple really could not be judged by conventional standards!

Fan Hongjiao, however, laughed quite happily and said, "Disciple, you have this ability too! Tomorrow, strike a bolt of lightning for your Senior Sister to see. Senior Sister has a few enemies; why don't you think of a way to conjure a few bolts and strike them all down for me!?"

Duan Rong, however, laughed and said, "Fine! Wherever Senior Sister points, I shall strike!"

Fan Hongjiao laughed even more happily, finding Duan Rong more and more pleasing to the eye the more she looked at him.

Seeing that the matter had been discussed enough, Wu Shidao prepared to disperse. Just as he was about to speak, Fan Hongjiao saw his intention and immediately cut him off, saying, "There is one more thing."

Wu Shidao looked at Fan Hongjiao with an inquiring gaze.

Fan Hongjiao said, "Since Wang Yue is back, we should take a trip to the Underground World's Dark Forest."

Wu Shidao: "Didn't Wang Yue just go once before he left? Why go again after only a few days?"

Fan Hongjiao said, "The main thing is that everyone is here, so we should take our Disciple for a trip. If we really wait, we'll have to wait another month or so!"

Wu Shidao glanced at Duan Rong and pondered, "Alright then. It is good to take our Disciple to gain some experience early."

Upon hearing the mention of the Dark Forest from Fan Hongjiao, Duan Rong knew exactly what place she was talking about.

During those three years he spent as a Registered Disciple, he had browsed through all kinds of Sect classics in the Outer Courtyard of the Scripture Repository, so he already knew about this quite clearly.

The reason the Taiyi Sect chose Changliu Mountain as its location was because there was a God-Demon Relic beneath the ground of Changliu Mountain.

The Heaven and Earth Qi of this realm had long since dissipated, and it was no longer possible for a Martial Artist to make further progress after reaching the True Qi Realm Great Perfection.

But tens of thousands of years ago, with the discovery of the underground God-Demon Relic, Heaven and Earth Qi re-emerged in specific areas. Those classics that had been passed down from ancient times, which were like waste paper, were dug up again by some people, organized, explored, and passed down through generations, gradually opening up another path of cultivation for Martial Artists.

The God-Demon Relic had lain silent underground for who knows how many years! Once one was discovered, the heroes of the age would explore everywhere, seeking them out with great diligence, and gradually, many mysterious relics were discovered.

The Heavenly Dao Laws within the God-Demon Relic were different from the Heavenly Dao Laws of this realm, and this was the reason why Heaven and Earth Qi could emerge within them.

Or rather, the Heavenly Dao Laws of this realm had been severely damaged or altered for some reason, leading to its decline and decay, and the Heaven and Earth Qi that had filled this realm in ancient times had dissipated along with it.

As for the God-Demon Relic, because of its residual God-Demon power, its original Heavenly Dao Laws were protected, and thus Heaven and Earth Qi still emerged within the God-Demon Relic.

In other words, the Heavenly Dao Laws within the God-Demon Relic had not decayed or declined because of the protection of the residual God-Demon power.

Because the Heavenly Dao Laws within the God-Demon Relic were vastly different from the Heavenly Dao Laws of this realm, it resulted in the two different laws grinding against each other like millstones over endless years in the vicinity of the God-Demon Relic, thereby forming a very vast, spatially distorted Underground World around the God-Demon Relic, which was known as the Dark Forest.

Within the Dark Forest, there were many strange species, including Origin Beasts.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yue suddenly slumped in his chair and said, "I just got back, and now we're going to the Dark Forest? Can't you let me rest for two days?"

"Rest for what?" Fan Hongjiao rolled her eyes at him and said, "So weak? Was it from being worn out by that little vixen at the Yanyue Pavilion in Shenyun Prefecture?"

Wang Yue's face turned red in an instant, and he said, "How could that be?!"

Wu Shidao asked, "When are we going?"

Fan Hongjiao said, "Bring the Topographical Map over, we will study it, choose a direction, and we can head down immediately!"

Wu Shidao nodded; he knew Fan Hongjiao had a fiery and impatient personality. Once she had decided on something, she would act on it immediately, never being hesitant or indecisive.

Wu Shidao then stood up, preparing to go to his room to fetch that Topographical Map of the Dark Forest that they had been continuously perfecting for many years.

(End of chapter)