Chapter 762: The Aftermath of Master Shu Yu's Death

Chiyunzi walked toward the outside of the hall, and only two people stepped out from the crowd, following him with grief-stricken expressions.

The remaining disciples watched this Martial Uncle's back, and an inexplicable sense of fear rose in their hearts.

Slain Hunyuan had already attained an immortal body, and everything in the world had been taken lightly, but now of the seven disciples kneeling beneath him, four had died in quick succession. His most beloved chief disciple had even set off for the other continents to take the lead in resisting the Puti Sect, leaving only two juniors by his side, not even a single person who could offer a word of counsel.

In that joking remark just now, the crowd vaguely sensed a hint of killing intent.

"……"

Master Qingguang watched his Martial Brother's departure, neither speaking up to urge him to stay, nor reproaching Mei Jiyao's actions.

Chiyunzi appeared to be making an issue of the juniors, but in truth was seeking an attitude from himself.

After people like Brother Mao Feng perished, Elder Chi Yun Cave still sent its chief disciple away from Beizhou, which showed that in this Martial Brother's eyes, dealing with the Puti Sect first was the proper business, and the disciples of Sanxian Sect were one family, not requiring anyone to stay behind to guard against them.

But the truth was exactly the opposite.

Your Elder Chi Yun Cave is weak, so you should hand over your dao-ground.

It sounded somewhat chilling, but Mei Jiyao's reaction just now actually better fit the thoughts of the juniors present.

If saying this today is wrong, then what is right?

If this precedent is set, can every disciple then brazenly guard their dao-ground, reasoning that if you dare reach out, I'll threaten my own death, and if you have the guts, you can pay with your life?

In such a vast Beizhou, one surely cannot compete on whose face is thicker.

With the people's hearts scattered, and many disciples each occupying a portion of the incense offerings, who in the end would have the ability and prestige to replace the Human Sovereign?

Thinking of this, Master Qingguang withdrew his gaze and fell silent.

On this trip to hear the dharma, he learned from other Martial Brothers that the Yuqing Sect's Sect Master had the idea of selecting twelve Jin Xian to manage the overall situation, and regardless of which lineage's disciples, all would have a chance.

To rise as the chief among the many immortals during the great tribulation, standing only beneath the Three Pure Ones and the Five Emperors, what status one could hold after the tribulation was self-evident.

Besides this.

This news also meant that the Sect Master was keeping a close eye on this great tribulation; to select the chief among the immortals, there must be a standard, indicating that there were requirements for all the immortals within the tribulation.

Master Qingguang quietly swept a glance at Mei Jiyao below; at least for now, the performance of the Qingguang Cave lineage could be called outstanding, and his own chances were quite good.

As their Master, how could he hold back his disciple at such a time?

Let alone that the deaths of Elder Chi Yun Cave's disciples had nothing to do with Mei Jiyao—she was merely passing by—even if she truly had done it, today he still had to straighten her back in front of Martial Brother Elder Chi Yun.

"Don't overthink it. Your Martial Uncle was just emotionally unsettled for a moment; he doesn't mean to blame you."

Master Qingguang nodded to this chief disciple and casually added a reminder: "Besides being diligent, also look after your own Martial Brothers more… keep less company with outsiders."

"This disciple understands."

Mei Jiyao bowed in salute.

Behind her, True Person Master Yun Miao's face grew somewhat awkward; how could he not hear who the outsider in this Martial Uncle's mouth referred to.

But having finally latched onto a powerful patron, where was there any turning back now?

He could only pretend not to know, and likewise cupped his hands in salute toward the front, his bearing several times more deferential than Mei Jiyao, the personally-taught chief disciple.

……

Beizhou, Kaiyuan Prefecture.

The once somewhat desolate Tashan had already undergone earth-shaking changes compared to a few months prior. Although no city had appeared, with the help of the immortal sect disciples, the gradually increasing houses stood in great numbers, faintly taking on the appearance of a township.

Of course, besides these, the biggest change was the number of people.

The refugees who had originally been heading toward Songfeng Fucheng had recently all streamed over in a steady stream. Even when Tashan truly could not accommodate any more, they turned their gaze further west.

Because True Person Haoming had issued a decree, his dao-ground was now even cleaner and more beautiful than Tashan, and its attraction to this group of refugees was almost beyond words.

Added to that, the area was vast.

So much so that the common folk in Master Shu Yu's dao-ground had been drawn away by him to the tune of nearly eighty percent, leaving Shen Yi with a mere twenty percent.

"Our Lord's incense offerings have all been swallowed up by them."

Nanhuang was somewhat indignant; one had to know that to slay that Master Shu Yu, the Master had taken on quite a few risks.

To this, Shen Yi merely lowered his eyes and smiled.

He looked at the reply from the Imperial City in his hand; the letter's contents were very simple, simply clarifying exactly what identity that group of monks who had suddenly appeared in Beizhou held.

The title Great Freedom Pure World Bodhisattva was inexplicably jarring to the eyes.

Having been in Beizhou for so long, Shen Yi still had not been able to truly enter the Sanxian Sect; when he would lose his life depended entirely on when those monks found him.

This feeling of not knowing if there would be a tomorrow was truly unpleasant.

How to master the great method to step into second rank was the most important thing; this bit of incense offerings could not preserve his life.

Before Lingxuzi returned, the only lifeline Shen Yi could grasp was Master Qingguang's so-called clean reputation.

In other words, as a refugee who had sold his life for this Hongze Daxian, leading to the complete destruction of the Shenxu lineage, Qingguang Cave at least could not openly make a move against him.

They had to observe the rules, present evidence.

And letting this group of refugees flood into True Person Haoming's dao-ground was a deliberate move by Shen Yi; even if True Person Mei Jiyao had already been certain that the culprit was him, she could not produce corresponding evidence.

After all, Taixu Zhenjun had not gone anywhere, these common folk had all come of their own accord, and besides, they had not only come to the Tashan dao-ground.

"Sigh."

Shen Yi briefly recorded the recent situation and handed it to Shenxu Laozu to have him take it back to the Divine Dynasty.

"This portion of incense offerings, he probably won't be able to eat for long."

Recalling how True Person Haoming, after losing his great demon, had only left behind a meaningless harsh word and then vanished without a trace, he was probably of a similar temperament to True Person Master Yun Miao.

Qingguang Cave would soon discover the anomaly in Kaiyuan Prefecture; even if they couldn't produce evidence for the moment, normal contention was unavoidable.

"As for how long we can eat, that depends on our ability."

Shen Yi closed his eyes and looked inward. With so many refugees flooding into Tashan and witnessing the scenery here that was entirely different from the prefecture city, the abundant imperial qi allowed the Shenxu Dao Fruit, already one kick from the threshold, to take another step forward.

Huang Liuliu transformed; the original divine wind turned into grey mist, and now the grey mist gathered again into dense, heavy black clouds, completely obscuring the golden radiance on the Bodhisattva's dharma image.

"We understand."

Nanhuang stood quietly at the side, a fierce glint surfacing in his eyes.

The master himself stirred up trouble in Beizhou, and now the change has come riding the momentum — if we catch it, we'll have a firm foothold in Beizhou from here on; if we miss it, I'm afraid there'll be only one road left, the road to death.

While master and servant were chatting idly, in another part of Kaiyuan Prefecture…

"There are more and more people, Zhu Shixiong!"

Huaming excitedly clutched his senior brother's sleeve. He had originally felt himself the unluckiest of men, but never expected this place to change overnight.

The incense and offerings that originally belonged to Master Shu Yu were, for no discernible reason, flooding toward them and the others. One only needed to glance at the sky beyond the hall to see it — that pale yellow mist was thickening at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"……"

True Person Haoming sat upright and proper, struggling to suppress the smile tugging at his lips.

Even in his wildest dreams he had never imagined that one day he would occupy nearly the entire incense offerings of Kaiyuan Prefecture. How could such a thing belong to a cultivator who had only undergone six changes?

The reason he was still sitting here composed was the faint unease lurking at the bottom of his heart.

After a long while, a disciple finally hurried in and said in rapid, urgent tones: "Reporting to Master, we went to investigate. The reason the refugees from Songfeng Fucheng fled to our side is that Qingguang Cave has stopped distributing relief."

"Stopped the relief?" True Person Haoming looked over in bewilderment.

"Exactly. The disciples in charge of relief have all vanished without a trace — perhaps they've already returned to Qingguang Cave. We also didn't hear of any instruction from Master Shu Yu."

Speaking of this, even that disciple found it somewhat inconceivable — in a Beizhou where wolves outnumber the meat, there were actually people who would voluntarily give up a whole district.

"Master, what should we do now?"

Hearing this, True Person Haoming clenched both fists tightly. After taking several deep breaths, he said, as if consoling himself: "This isn't me going out to snatch... Listen carefully, no need to be too deliberate — just treat everyone equally."

Whatever happened at Master Shu Yu's side had nothing to do with him.

Seizing this moment — build houses, distribute grain and water, erect statues of True Lord Haoming, and carve this immortal name deep into the minds of those refugees — that was what mattered most.

It was only a pity that Bai Yuan was dead. He still needed to hurry off to borrow one from his fellow disciples. He had to seize this opportunity and firmly lock down this once-in-an-eternity stream of incense offerings.

The moment he thought of this matter, True Person Haoming felt a surge of anger.

If not for that cultivator from Nananzhou, why would things have to be this troublesome? And on top of that, this heaven-sent fortune had actually been partly taken by the other party.

Even after swallowing down all this incense, he still couldn't count as the sect's pride who held an entire prefecture. After all, right in the middle there was still that small patch of Tashan — a splinter in the eye, truly unbearable.

Enough, there'll be chances in the future.

Thinking of this, True Person Haoming waved his sleeve, told the disciple to leave the great hall, and to get the matter handled quickly.

The disciple had barely stepped out when a tall, slender figure walked in slowly.

"I told you to hurry and soothe the refugees — what are you dawdling around here for!" Huaming turned his head and snapped angrily. But the instant his words left his mouth, his whole person was pressed down by his senior brother.

Once he saw clearly the figure of the one who had come…

Huaming stared fixedly at the jeweled crown atop the other's head. His gaze traveled down, taking in a fair, exquisite face that bore not the slightest expression.

His heart suddenly began to pound violently, the thuds deafening.

It was not stirred by beauty. In the span of a breath, this naturally restless junior — who even dared to trade a few quips with his own senior brother — now had eyes filled with terror. He dropped his head straight down, like a tame little beast.

"Y-Youyao Jiang Shijie."

True Person Haoming forced a smile and rose to his feet. The palm clenched tight inside his sleeve was soaked through with sweat.

His heart was filled with bitter vexation.

He was clearly only one change away, yet he had sensed nothing of this senior sister's arrival. Precisely because of this, the wariness in his heart deepened by several degrees more. The strength of this woman before his eyes was probably far more profound than the rumors claimed.

He could only hope that his earlier words hadn't been overheard…

The instant he saw Youyao, True Person Haoming became certain of his earlier guess — Master Shu Yu most likely hadn't abandoned this district of Kaiyuan Prefecture; the greater probability was that something had happened to him.

But having done nothing guilty, True Person Haoming quickly suppressed that flicker of guilty conscience: "I don't know what instructions bring Jiang Shijie here in person?"

True Person Youyao swept a casual glance over the two of them, with no intention of idle chatter. She turned unhurriedly and looked toward the district outside: "Who told you to do this?"

"D-Do what?" True Person Haoming's courage, so freshly mustered, dissolved into nothing under this questioning. He lowered his head without realizing it.

"These houses, and the grain and water."

True Person Youyao had originally come on her master's orders — so-called lending a hand to fellow disciples — which made her think of Shu Yu, who had still not returned, and decide to come over and see how things stood.

She hadn't expected that upon arriving at Kaiyuan Prefecture, she would see a baffling scene.

Vast numbers of refugees scattered about. In this vast stretch of Songfeng Fucheng, not a single disciple of Qingguang Cave could be found to ask.

And what puzzled her even more was that across all of Beizhou, the district where Haoming sat guard and that Tashan were unique in their current appearance.

"So that's what Jiang Shijie means."

True Person Haoming let out a breath of relief, his face full of grievance: "This wasn't this junior brother's own doing. It was that Taixu Danhuang who came from Nananzhou — without so much as a word of greeting, he went ahead and did all this on his own. Tell me, Jiang Shijie — if this junior brother didn't follow suit, wouldn't the hearts of the common folk in my district all drift off to his side?"

"Competing for incense through such despicable means — this is also the first time this junior brother has encountered it. There really was no choice…"

"……"

Youyao listened quietly and gave a slight nod.

She turned her gaze back and suddenly said: "Have you seen my junior brother?"

True Person Haoming had already had his suspicions. Now, under this sudden, unguarded question, his whole body stiffened. His face flushed crimson as he said: "I truly haven't seen him. Zhu Shixiong Shu Yu's affairs have nothing whatsoever to do with this junior brother."

Before his words had even finished falling, even Huaming, who had his head buried and dared not speak, broke out in a cold sweat.

The other party hadn't even said which junior brother, yet Zhu Shixiong Haoming's response was no different from confessing without being pressed.

If someone has met with misfortune, naturally whoever profits most bears the greatest suspicion. Zhu Shixiong has taken in so many refugees — now it's truly mud falling into one's trousers, impossible to wash clean…

"Heh."

Sure enough, True Person Youyao withdrew her gaze and couldn't help a cold laugh.

Anyone else, seeing Haoming's current trembling, guilty appearance, would probably have struck directly to seize and interrogate him.

But she shook her head.

This man's guilty conscience was real enough, but the reason for it was most likely that, having guessed Shu Yu had met with misfortune, he still pretended ignorance in order to conveniently seize this stream of incense offerings.

As for making a move against Qingguang Cave's disciples and doing anything underhanded — the man neither had the strength for it nor the nerve.

"Understood."

The True Person You Yao responded indifferently, then stepped out of the grand hall.

After she left, the True Person Hao Ming remained stunned for a long while; hearing of her fame was not the same as seeing her in person—only when standing before this woman could one truly feel the weight of her renown.

"Brother, are we safe now?" Hua Ming timidly lifted his head.

"Safe? I wish we were!"

The True Person Hao Ming swallowed hard, let out a low growl, and suddenly sprinted after her.

He hovered high in the sky, gazing far toward the east.

As expected, the figure in the black dress had already shot toward Tashan, heading straight for the young man seated in meditation.

"Besides us, the only one who took advantage is him."

Hua Ming followed close behind, a sudden gleam of delight appearing on his face; he turned to meet his brother's gaze, and both clearly understood the other's thoughts.

The Nananzhou cultivator is not like us—he is not a fellow disciple of the Sanxian Sect.

Sister You Yao has no reason to be courteous to him.

Added to that, the way he treated refugees with those vile methods—he is surely doomed today!

(End of Chapter)