Chapter 96: Gao Xian, How Dare You? (6k)

The mountains of Qingniu Ridge stretch endlessly, their sheer cliffs carved as if by axe and blade, radiating a cold, austere aura.

Mist curled like gauze through the valleys, and from within, occasional roars echoed sporadically.

At the center, the land lay ravaged—ancient trees stood blackened and charred, and the ground was pockmarked with craters, as if a battle beyond imagination had recently raged here.

CRASH!

A corpse fell from the sky with a dull thud, jarringly loud in the silent mountains.

A masked figure appeared out of nowhere, standing atop a tree.

“Qingniu Treads Mist Shadow!”

At that moment, a middle-aged man stepped calmly from the forest, hands behind his back. He glanced indifferently at the corpse below, then slowly lifted his head and spoke.

Gao Xian slowly removed his mask and said in a low voice: “Moonlight Illuminates the Desolate Ridge!”

The man immediately smiled and bowed to Gao Xian: “You acted too rashly—didn’t you fear being seen? Remember, you’re a crucial piece we spent countless resources to plant deep within Taiqingmen.”

He hurried forward, flipping over the cold, stiff corpse, and in an instant his eyes blazed with excitement.

“Wasn’t it said to be impossible? Is this a surprise? Hah, excellent, excellent! Chief Tong Min of Yuqing Peak ruined too many of our plans years ago—I’ve long wanted to eliminate her. By the way, the Sect Master’s orders are—”

“The list!”

Before the man could finish, Gao Xian cut in coldly.

The man rose, hesitating, then after a brief pause, flicked his finger—a slip of paper shot through the air.

“This person’s seniority exceeds yours—he was an undercover agent planted long ago, never activated. The original plan was for you to cooperate with him…”

SPLASH—

Before the man could finish, the corpse previously presumed dead—Tong Min—suddenly opened her eyes, and a gray-gold silk ribbon pierced straight through her abdomen.

The man reacted instantly, unleashing his Soul Transformation spiritual power and retreating at blinding speed, barely avoiding a second strike.

Feeling searing pain in his abdomen, he stared in disbelief at Gao Xian, still coldly watching him from the treetop, then at Tong Min rising from the ground—he turned and fled without a word.

“I expect a reasonable explanation after this!”

Tong Min frowned, looking up at Gao Xian on the tree, then swiftly chased after him.

Gao Xian slowly unrolled the paper slip—his pupils shrank sharply as he saw the names on it.

Then, watching the two figures chasing each other ahead, he lifted his foot slightly and vanished from the spot.

Fine raindrops pattered against the thick trees, whispering softly; the leaves grew greener under the wash of rain.

A corpse lay sprawled in a pit, slowly being submerged by the rain.

At this moment, Tong Min stood motionless, Gao Xian’s fingertip pressed to her forehead.

Soon, her body went limp; Gao Xian caught her in time, slung her over his shoulder, and departed swiftly.

Not long after, he returned, stared at the corpse in the puddle, walked to the side, plucked a small red flower, and laid it upon the body.

“Next time, don’t trust others so easily!”

With that, Gao Xian swiftly erased all traces around him, pulled out a spirit talisman, burned it, and left again.

After an unknown length of time, two figures tore through the void in frantic haste.

They rushed to examine the corpse, faces filled with fury.

“Who? Who the hell did this? A late-stage Soul Transformation expert just vanished!” one roared to the sky.

The other swiftly inspected the wounds, but could not determine their origin.

“His primordial spirit shattered, his storage pouch gone—what do we do now?” the other said, equally grim.

The roaring man immediately transmitted the scene’s details back.

“Canglang has been undercover for years—he’s our most vital asset. This mission was to assassinate Chief Tong Min of Yuqing Peak, to throw Taiqingmen into chaos and fear, paving the way for our next plan.”

“But his last message said he couldn’t erase his traces without suspicion, so we prepared to activate Yexiao—the list was already in hand, yet this—”

After sending the message, he glared with bloodshot eyes.

The other said: “Now it’s a disaster. According to Canglang’s urgent report, he saw fighting here before reaching the rendezvous—too dangerous to approach, so he fled immediately.”

“Forget the rest—Qu Shen was a late-stage Soul Transformation expert. How was he killed so quickly, with no trace left? And he didn’t even have time to send a distress signal?”

The two fell silent, then spread out, searching for any clue in the surroundings.

But it was clearly futile.

Soon, one received a message and sighed: “The Sect Master orders us to hurry to Taiqingmen and retrieve Yexiao. That agent is ruined.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Delay invites change—go now! Damn it—who did this? Our Cangyan Dao Palace still hasn’t purged its traitors!”

They quickly retrieved Qu Shen’s corpse and sped toward Taiqingmen.

“Tong sister, Tong sister—are you alright?”

Tong Min felt dizzy, then wearily opened her eyes. Seeing Gao Xian beside her, she sat up abruptly.

But instantly, a sharp pain stabbed her head; her hands flew to cover it.

“Why did I suddenly collapse while walking? You looked unwell—let’s go back. We can skip this mission for now.” Gao Xian said with concern.

Tong Min slapped her head hard.

Mission?

Right—Gao brother had asked her to help with a difficult task. They’d left the sect, and then… she couldn’t remember what happened after that.

“I—I’m fine!” As spiritual power flowed through her, she felt better, smiling at Gao Xian.

But Gao Xian shook his head: “Forget it. The mission isn’t urgent—we can wait a while.”

“Probably just exhaustion. I’m truly fine…”

“I say, let’s return to the sect!” Gao Xian spoke again.

Tong Min’s eyes grew hazy once more, then she nodded blankly: “Alright. I’m not feeling well—I’ll return.”

Gao Xian nodded.

The two then turned back toward Taiqingmen.

…………

“They left three hours ago? Why didn’t you tell me sooner!” When Mo Xingjian learned Gao Xian and Tong Min had left the sect, he turned pale with alarm.

Though Gao Xian’s suspicion was gradually fading, Mo Xingjian still kept his fourth brother’s words in mind.

Yet just as he rushed out the mountain gate, he saw two figures descending from the sky.

“Little Brother Mo, where are you rushing off to?” Gao Xian landed with a smile and asked.

Seeing Tong Min unharmed, Mo Xingjian secretly exhaled in relief and said: “Uh, just running some errands. What were you two up to?”

Gao Xian suddenly grinned: “I said we went on a date—would you believe me?”

Tong Min quickly interjected: “Gao brother, don’t joke like that. Today I’ve felt dizzy all day. I’ll leave you two to talk—I’m heading back.”

After nodding to both, Tong Min passed through the sect’s barrier and walked up the mountain.

Mo Xingjian said: “I’ve got things to attend to—I’ll be off!”

“Stay safe!” Gao Xian warned.

Mo Xingjian nodded and vanished into the sky as a streak of light.

Only after Mo Xingjian’s figure disappeared did Gao Xian smile faintly and step into the mountain gate.

But as soon as he entered, a figure dashed toward him.

“Little Brother Gu, where are you off to?” Gao Xian greeted with a smile.

The figure landed, his expression warm.

It was none other than Gu Tao, head of the Mission Hall.

“Greetings, Senior Brother Gao!” Gu Tao bowed.

Gao Xian nodded with a smile: “What’s going on today? Everyone’s in such a rush—I just saw Little Brother Mo sprinting out.”

“Oh? Little Brother Mo left? Probably urgent business. Coincidentally, I just received a tip that needs immediate handling—can’t afford delays—I’m off!”

Head Gu Tao looked anxious.

But Gao Xian suddenly reached out and grabbed him: “When you’re done, come to Jinyang Peak—I’ve got some fine wine.”

“Sure thing! I’ll come back!” Gu Tao replied cheerfully.

Then he passed through the barrier and vanished into the sky.

Gao Xian’s smile vanished instantly, his face turning cold.

“Yexiao—”

He whispered softly, then his face paled; he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He quickly wiped his mouth, cleaned the blood away.

“Three hundred years of nurturing—worth it.”

Then he headed straight for Jinyang Peak.

Meanwhile, a hundred li away, Mo Xingjian landed on a large tree, suddenly feeling awkward.

He didn’t know whether to return or not.

“Maybe I’m overthinking it. Fine—I’ll head to Yanlong City at the mountain’s base for a day or two, then come back.”

As Mo Xingjian prepared to leave, he saw Gu Tao, head of the Mission Hall, approaching him.

“Is everyone so busy lately?”

Just as Mo Xingjian was about to call out, he saw Gu Tao frantically scratching his face and neck—as if something crawled beneath his skin.

“Something’s wrong—”

Seeing this, Mo Xingjian’s face changed instantly.

“Ahh—”

Before Mo Xingjian could move to help, Gu Tao suddenly let out a piercing scream, then his body began swelling rapidly.

Mo Xingjian’s heart screamed a warning, but before he could react, Gu Tao exploded with a thunderous crash.

In an instant, terrifying energy surged outward like a tidal wave; a protective light barrier instantly formed before Mo Xingjian.

Even so, he was flung backward by the force, hearing only the howling wind and the crack of snapping trees.

He spat out a mouthful of blood but paid no heed—he leapt to his feet in shock.

He saw the blast wave raging like a furious hurricane, spreading wildly in all directions.

Countless trees shattered and toppled like fragile reeds, sending clouds of dust and splinters into the air.

The air reeked of charred wood; the once-lush forest was now a wasteland.

Broken branches and leaves flew everywhere, and the ground had been blasted into a massive crater.

Gu Tao, Sect Master of the Mission Hall of Taiqingmen, was gone—no trace left!

Mo Xingjian stood frozen, staring at it all, still unable to comprehend what had just happened.

A mid-Nascent Soul cultivator… just like that?

Only when he saw a storage bag drifting on the wind, slowly landing to one side, did he rush over, snatch it up, and immediately notify the Sect Master.

Meanwhile, the Soul Lamp Tower!

Jiang Pu, the Tower Keeper, watched Gu Tao’s soul lamp extinguish completely, and let out a long sigh.

“What a pity.”

He rubbed his face, then bolted out in panic.

“Sect Master—something terrible has happened—”

…………

“Little Four! Little Four—something’s happened!”

Zhou Qing, bent over gathering spirit eggs from the chicken coop, was startled by Yan Xiaohu’s shrill cry.

“I’ve got to install a better soundproofing barrier tomorrow!”

After carefully placing the spirit eggs into a jade box and feeding the old hen some spirit rice, Zhou Qing opened the courtyard gate.

The moment he opened it, Yan Xiaohu rushed in and grabbed his arm.

“It’s over, Little Four—Master’s been taken!”

Zhou Qing froze, confused.

“Slow down—what exactly happened?”

Yan Xiaohu immediately pulled Zhou Qing toward the main peak, Shen Yue Peak.

“I’ll explain on the way.”

…………

When the two arrived at Shen Yue Peak, they found many gathered outside Qiankun Hall, all faces filled with anger, whispering among themselves.

On the way, Zhou Qing had already learned what had occurred.

Gu Tao, Mission Hall’s Sect Master, was dead.

The only eyewitness was Master Mo Xingjian.

He was a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator—cultivated at immense cost in resources and effort; now he was gone, for no clear reason?

To Taiqingmen, it was like tearing out a piece of its own flesh.

“Zhou Senior Brother, you’re here?”

Lu Yaoyao hurried over. “Don’t worry—Master Mo will be fine. They’re just asking questions; he’ll be out soon.”

Zhou Qing knew his master was innocent, but the sudden death of a Nascent Soul cultivator had caught everyone completely off guard.

Everyone present was utterly unprepared.

“What’s the situation now?” Zhou Qing asked urgently.

Lu Yaoyao replied: “Before you arrived, several Grand Elders, several Peak Masters, and two Deputy Heads of the Mission Hall were summoned inside.”

At that moment, Li Daoxuan and five other core disciples arrived with a large Enforcement Team, bringing everyone who had recently interacted with Gu Tao.

After a brief report, they all entered the hall.

“I’m going in to check!” Zhou Qing said, worried, but Yan Xiaohu held him back.

“This is too serious—we shouldn’t interfere. Just wait here,” Yan Xiaohu said.

Zhou Qing stared at Qiankun Hall, his brow furrowed.

Could it be the Cangyan Dao Palace?

Time passed slowly until late at night, when Mo Xingjian emerged, pale and exhausted.

Several other Peak Masters came out with him.

“Master!” Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu rushed forward.

Mo Xingjian nodded slightly at them, then turned to the other Peak Masters: “I’ll go first. You should return as well.”

Several Peak Masters, including Tong Min, nodded respectfully, bowed, and called their disciples to leave.

“We’ll talk when we get back,” Mo Xingjian said.

The two wisely said nothing more and hurried after their master toward Xiao Ling Peak.

…………

“So… Gu Tao was a spy planted by the Cangyan Dao Palace?”

When Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu heard the truth from Mo Xingjian, they stared in disbelief.

Good heavens—he was Gu Tao, the Mission Hall’s head, a man who had contributed countless deeds to Taiqingmen.

This… this…

Mo Xingjian immediately shushed them, signaling silence.

Watch your words—walls have ears.

“We discovered this accidentally in his storage bag. Not only that—it contained scrolls and cultivation techniques exposing our sect’s deepest secrets, plus a million spirit stones. Clearly, he never intended to return.”

Mo Xingjian still found it hard to believe—not just disbelief, but profound confusion.

He’d hidden for so many years—why suddenly decide to flee?

Just to take those classified materials?

But that couldn’t possibly outweigh the value of a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator.

Had he stayed hidden, the damage he could have caused was unimaginable.

And how had he suddenly exploded?

Mo Xingjian had seen it with his own eyes—he seemed forced to detonate, his soul and spirit obliterated. How?

Could someone else have done it?

Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu exchanged glances—Gu Tao had never planned to come back?

“Master, what did the Mission Hall say?” Zhou Qing asked.

Mo Xingjian shook his head: “According to them, Gu Tao’s behavior had been normal these past days—until this afternoon, when he suddenly took a large quantity of spirit stones and left in a hurry.”

“By the way, before he left, someone saw him speak briefly with Gao Xuan. Gao Xuan admitted it himself—he said it was just a casual greeting. I can confirm this, since I’d heard he and Tong Min had left, and I was about to go search for them.”

“Then I ran into them at the sect gate, and shortly after, saw Gu Tao leave—then witnessed his explosion firsthand.”

Zhou Qing frowned deeply.

Could Gao Xuan be the one who did it?

But that made no sense—no motive.

For a moment, all three fell silent.

After a long pause, Mo Xingjian looked at them. “Be careful when you go out in the coming days—safety first. Also, don’t spread the news that Gu Tao was a Cangyan Dao Palace spy. Only a few know the truth; if word gets out, it will devastate Taiqingmen.”

They nodded, understanding.

“Master, who do you think did it?” Yan Xiaohu asked curiously.

Mo Xingjian shook his head. “Why strike now, and not before? He acted precisely when Gu Tao was about to flee—and he managed to make a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator fall without a trace, dead and utterly destroyed. The method and ability… it’s chilling.”

“One thing is certain: the killer is at least a Nascent Soul cultivator. But Taiqingmen has only a handful of such cultivators. It seems easy to investigate—yet we have no starting point.”

Mo Xingjian grew agitated, then waved them off.

They couldn’t help anyway.

“I never thought beneath Taiqingmen’s calm surface, such hidden currents churned!”

Outside, Yan Xiaohu muttered.

Zhou Qing nodded in agreement.

Previously, deaths had been only Jin Dan or Nascent Soul—minor incidents. But now, with a Nascent Soul cultivator fallen, the situation had escalated drastically.

As they say: good news doesn’t travel far, but bad news spreads a thousand miles.

News of Gu Tao’s death spread quickly to other major sects.

Each sent condolences and expressed outrage at the killer.

Yet they also knew Taiqingmen was in a frenzy, so they refrained from pressing further, fearing suspicion.

Since the time for open confrontation hadn’t come, Taiqingmen replied politely.

After all, Cangyan Dao Palace was clearly the prime suspect—but who was the hidden ally?

Taiqingmen needed allies—but above all, it needed vigilance.

In the following days, Taiqingmen was gripped by fear; each peak strictly forbade disciples from wandering.

To ordinary disciples, if the enemy could assassinate a Nascent Soul cultivator, what could stop them from killing anyone else?

But among those who knew the truth, even the Task Hall’s chief was a traitor—so who could still be trusted?

As for the Immortal Lady Xuanyou, she remained where she was, refusing to leave; suspicion already clung to her, and if she fled hastily, she would never clear her name.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qing took advantage of this undisturbed time to fully devote himself to cultivating the Yin-Yang Scripture, frantically absorbing mid-grade spirit stones and spirit eggs as he pushed hard toward the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

Who knew when the great chaos would break out? He needed the strength to protect himself when the time came.

Thus, another full month passed before Taiqingmen finally returned to normal from its tense atmosphere.

At this moment, Zhou Qing’s eyes were tightly shut; black and white spiritual energy vortices spun relentlessly at his chest and dantian, voraciously drawing in spirit stones from all around.

As spiritual energy surged continuously into him, his aura steadily rose.

“Break!” After an unknown duration in this state, Zhou Qing let out a low roar—and the two Golden Cores underwent another transformation.

Their once brilliant light grew denser and more solid; the Golden Cores slightly expanded in size, and a more immense power began to flow through his body.

Feeling this new aura, Zhou Qing slowly opened his eyes, two beams of sharp light shooting forth.

“Mid-stage Golden Core!”

He had finally broken through—and was nearly catching up to his third senior brother.

Filled with excitement and elation, Zhou Qing nonetheless, for caution’s sake, once again concealed his cultivation base at the late Foundation Establishment stage using the Turtle Breathing Scripture.

“This Yin-Yang Scripture is truly an extraordinary technique—too bad it’s exclusive to Yin and Yang energy; otherwise, I’d find a chance to give it to my third senior brother. It would surely help him break into the Nascent Soul realm.”

Zhou Qing sighed.

Requesting monthly votes





(End of Chapter)