Chapter 336: The Yuanqing Sect Rebuilding from the Ruins

The sky was faintly bright, the morning dew slightly cold. Before Wangxian Terrace, a figure stood facing the wind, thin yet upright. The person had white hair at the temples, yet a face like polished jade; hair moved with the wind, and a white robe fluttered, possessing an extraordinary bearing. This was none other than Fuyin Zhenren, the Punishment Elder of the Yuanqing Sect.

In the prime of life and possessing cultivation, Fuyin Zhenren should not have appeared aged, yet he had ended up with frost-white temples.

At this moment, Fuyin gazed at the distant Qingwei Peak, his heart filled with a thousand swirling thoughts.

After that day, before there was time to handle the aftermath, a golden light had shrouded Qingwei Peak, and no one could get close.

Lingxiang's cultivation was not particularly high, so how could she have set up such a powerful Dharma Array? Yet if it were not Lingxiang, who else could it be?

Over these years, Fuyin had many speculations in his heart, but he could never figure it out. Moreover, with the various large and small matters of the sect needing to be managed, he could only feel helpless despite his intentions.

After the Yuanqing Sect suffered its injuries, several True Persons were severely wounded and had all gone into seclusion. Except for Qingwei Peak, the burden of the entire sect had fallen almost entirely upon him.

With the Yuanqing Sect needing to be rebuilt from the ruins, Fuyin had truly exhausted his heart and energy over these past few years to reorganize it.

He could finally understand the exhaustion felt by True Persons Shangqing and Qianyuan back in the day. Fortunately, he had his junior brother Danzhu to assist him, and disciples like Hanyang and Shouyi were very capable, which saved him quite a bit of worry.

Elder Danyang had not gone into seclusion, but after the last battle, although Yinyu Peak had not been affected as much as Kuncheng Peak, the casualties among the spirits and exotic beasts there were heavy. Furthermore, after Elder Zhaoming passed away, the affairs of Yucang Peak also fell to him. With such heavy burdens, he rarely asked about other sect matters.

However, Fuyin Zhenren only held onto the major affairs of the sect; the miscellaneous small matters and external affairs were handled by Hanyang, the First Disciple of Shangqing Zhenren, while internal affairs were handed over to Shouyi, the Head Disciple of Qianyuan Zhenren.

Before Shangqing Zhenren went into seclusion, he left behind these words: "The river swallow leads its fledglings into the vast sky; do not wait until the blue heavens cause wings to droop."

Fuyin Zhenren deeply agreed with this. Upholding this principle, he had never interfered much in the disciples' actions. Even when they came to the hall to ask about matters difficult to decide, he mostly guided them with words to untangle their knots, never holding onto the outcome to the end, and certainly never judging right from wrong.

A person is bound to make mistakes in this life. If one blindly intervenes and orders corrections, not allowing them to face their mistakes and draw lessons, then they will never be able to stand on their own.

These disciples were also quite capable. Led by the First Disciples of each Elder, they managed their respective mountain peaks in an orderly fashion, which made Fuyin feel very gratified.

What surprised Fuyin the most, however, was Rendong. Back at Wuji Hall, all the Elders sighed with regret because of his False Spiritual Root, yet who would have thought that with such mediocre talent, he could cultivate to this level in a mere half-year.

Zhuzhang Laoren had Rendong set up the mountain-protecting Dharma Array. Fuyin was very worried at first, but he never expected that he would actually succeed. Although the Array Formation still had some deficiencies, it was enough to protect the entire Yuanqing Sect within it. Moreover, with Zhuzhang Laoren now stationed at Yuanqing, Fuyin felt much more at ease.

It seems one must admire Lingxiang. If not for her, there would certainly not be the Rendong of today. Lingxiang could look past aptitude to determine a person's worth, teaching according to their ability and entrusting them with care—on this point, Fuyin had to sigh at his own inferiority.

In the current world, how many such mediocre people have been buried in the dust? A thousand-mile steed is easy to find, but a Bole is hard to come by!

Speaking of Rendong, Fuyin Zhenren could not help but think of Maidong. After the catastrophe, they searched the entire Jiuque Mountain but could not find even a trace of her.

When the turmoil subsided that day and Elder Zhaoming was buried, Qianyuan Zhenren questioned the root cause of the situation, and the disciples all said that everything was the work of Maidong.

That day, Maidong brought medicinal tea, saying only that the senior brothers had worked hard, and then distributed it, also offering a cup to Elder Zhaoming. In daily life, Maidong often made food for the sect's brothers, so everyone drank it without suspicion. The disciples of the Taishang Sect saw the Yuanqing disciples doing so, and since the visitor was just a little girl, they lowered their guard.

But shortly after everyone drank the tea, anomalies occurred on the martial arts field. Taking advantage of Elder Zhaoming's distraction, Maidong clawed through his back. The disciples rushed forward upon seeing this, but for some reason, they found themselves unable to exert any strength. Thinking back on it now, it must have been that the tea had been tampered with, which allowed Maidong to easily subdue everyone.

Fuyin Zhenren naturally did not want to believe it, but when everyone speaks the same, as their master, even if he wanted to shield her, he could not say a word.

Those who walk the path of the Dao must not speak recklessly; this is an iron rule. Besides, the passing of Elder Zhaoming was right before their eyes.

Fortunately, there was a disciple of the Taishang Sect named Lu Ying. Just when the disciples were filled with indignation, he stood out.

According to Lu Ying, the crowd outside Wuji Hall was already furious that day and did not notice Maidong's abnormality at all. However, because of the incident at Youyuan Hall a few days prior, he was worried about the martial arts field, fearing that Huiyan and Lingxiang would clash again, so he only took a symbolic sip.

Although his body felt soft and powerless, his mind remained clear, unlike the other disciples who felt light-headed. When Maidong wielded her sword, Lu Ying clearly heard her muttering: "Run... quickly run..."

Regarding the Kunwu Sect incident, the Elders only knew the outcome but not the reason. Only Fuyin Zhenren knew a bit more, yet he still could not guess what Lingxiang was thinking. It was precisely because of this, after witnessing the methods of Guihua, that Fuyin Zhenren concluded Maidong had been controlled by her.

But when did that person control Maidong? And how did she do it? Could it have been that time Maidong left?

Maidong's injuries were indeed caused by that woman; if one really calculates it, it could only be that.

But what puzzled Fuyin Zhenren the most was the Demon Lord that day, who was clearly no different from the master in his memory, and according to him, he and Lingxiang were indeed father and daughter.

But how could his master be the Demon Lord of the Demon Race?

Shangqing and the other Elders remained tight-lipped, saying only that it was ordained by Heaven, and left it at that. This made the three brothers—Fuyin, Danzhu, and the others—feel it was suspicious.

During a previous invasion by the Demon Race, Lingxiao Zhenren went missing, and Tumi Xianzi also perished in that catastrophe. Yet as far as Fuyin knew, the Demon Lord had once received kindness from Tumi Xianzi. Even if he were a demon, he was at least of royal blood; could he really commit an act of returning kindness with enmity?

If the Demon Lord was truly ruthless, what would become of Lingxiang, who went with him?

Lingxiang agreed to go with the Demon Lord that day; thinking about it now, she must have known something and made her plans long ago.

Although he watched Lingxiang grow up, this little girl kept her thoughts deep and never told anyone about many things. What she was thinking, Fuyin could not guess.

Take Long Qi, for example.

According to Long Qi, when the Demon Race invaded, his body became extremely abnormal, and before that, he had only taken the Hanyu Pill given by Lingxiang.

The so-called "Hanyu" (containing jade) is derived from the meaning of not scattering. Once the Hanyu Pill enters the belly, it remains in the body, and in a very short time, it can freeze the meridians, blocking the flow of Qi, naturally making one unable to exert strength.

This pill cannot be undone by anyone except Tumi Xianzi!

What on earth was Lingxiang thinking?