Chapter 287: Eradicate the Traitor (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Deep night.

Inside a secret chamber.

An elderly Foundation Establishment cultivator frantically swallowed pills while channeling all his spiritual energy into a green talisman.

The talisman's parchment clearly came from a high-tier beast's hide, its surface inscribed with green cinnabar runes depicting a lifelike green bird.

It was the high-tier talisman—Green Bird Talisman!

Its value was immense, far beyond what a Foundation Establishment cultivator could afford.

Moments later, as the old man muttered incantations, his face turning pale from depleted spiritual energy, the "Green Bird Talisman" was finally activated.

The green bird on the talisman came to life, suddenly flying off the paper and transforming into a shimmering green mystic mirror.

The Green Bird Talisman was a two-part talisman, designed for communication.

Because of its high rank, even a near-grade-four formation could not block it.

In truth, if this were a high-tier attack talisman, even draining the Foundation Establishment elder's entire spiritual energy would be useless—and might even kill him.

But communication talismans had far lower requirements; with his late Foundation Establishment cultivation and the aid of pills, he had barely managed to activate it.

Within the green mystic mirror, ripples shifted, suddenly revealing a late Golden Core cultivator with white eyebrows trailing down and draped in a crane-feather cloak.

It was the Supreme Elder of White Crane Gate!

The fool who had planned the ambush on the Mu family cultivators—only to have his third-rank superior spirit crane slain by Fang Xing.

"Mu Mu Qingbai…"

The White Crane Gate Supreme Elder frowned: "The Green Bird Talisman is expensive and scarce—even our sect owns only a few. Why did you activate it so recklessly? Has that old devil already passed away?"

To the White Crane Gate Supreme Elder, Mu Mu Wulong was a blood-deep enemy.

Whether it was his former spirit beast or the Mu family's vast interests, he longed for the man to die on the spot so he could immediately seek vengeance.

"Not yet…" Mu Mu Qingbai said. "I wish to see my own children and grandchildren…"

He had once been fiercely loyal to the Mu family, until one journey led him to meet a beloved concubine—and even fathered a son.

Since Mu Mu Qingbai had been forced by the Mu family into a political marriage with a fierce cultivator's daughter, he dared not bring his concubine home, instead secretly keeping her in Immortal City.

He never imagined this secret had been discovered by White Crane Gate—and that they had seized his entire family.

With no choice, Mu Mu Qingbai became a mole.

"Heh… your grandchildren have decent talent. I've decided to take one as my disciple."

The White Crane Gate Supreme Elder chuckled: "I hope you won't make a foolish mistake."

"Of course not…"

Mu Mu Qingbai sighed: "Today, Mu Mu Qingshi failed to form a Golden Core—only managed a false core. I used the 'Reputation Worm' to subtly influence him… Isn't that proof enough of my loyalty?"

"Oh? That brat failed to form a Golden Core?"

The White Crane Gate Supreme Elder burst into laughter: "Good! Excellent!"

For a Golden Core cultivator, a false core barely counted as a true cultivator—especially for a late Golden Core master who barely looked down on even early Golden Core cultivators.

The White Crane Gate Supreme Elder wanted to swallow Mount Mount Baihua, so he closely monitored the Mu family's future: "A false core is no threat. Ha! You did exceptionally well—especially in skillfully using worm magic."

The Reputation Worm was a niche worm, harmless to cultivators and even capable of improving a family's moral climate.

Mu Mu Qingbai secretly used the Reputation Worm to constantly express worry about the family before Mu Mu Qingshi, subtly stoking his resentment and driving him to risk everything for the clan's sake.

Forming a Golden Core was already a razor's edge; if one harbored reckless thoughts, failure was inevitable.

And this scheme left no trace—no matter how many times you inspected the cultivation chamber or the Golden Core formation materials, you'd find nothing.

Even if caught, Mu Mu Qingbai could easily defend himself: Wasn't loyalty to the family a virtue?

Indeed, this move had just ruined Mu Mu Qingshi—completely undoing all his progress.

"This time, we also visited the Supreme Elder…"

Mu Mu Qingbai continued: "I secretly used the 'Bloodline Disc' to sense… the person in that cultivation chamber is truly Mu Mu Wulong. Your earlier suspicions were mistaken…"

The White Crane Gate Supreme Elder had been waiting for Mu Mu Wulong to die.

After all, as a late Golden Core cultivator, he knew that a forbidden technique capable of instantly boosting one's cultivation by a sub-stage was a death sentence for a severely wounded Golden Core cultivator.

But he waited and waited—for ten years—and still received no word of Mu Mu Wulong's death.

He immediately suspected Mu Wanzhang was behind it: Mu Mu Wulong had already passed away, but his soul lamp had been swapped, and someone else was impersonating him.

That's why the White Crane Gate Supreme Elder had ordered Mu Mu Qingbai to spread rumors of Mu Mu Wulong's death—and secretly forged a Bloodline Disc using his blood relatives.

This demonic artifact was typically used for clan annihilation, capable of detecting the locations of close blood relatives.

Though the sensing was slightly blurred, it could still confirm whether someone was within a single cultivation chamber's range.

"That old bastard still isn't dead!?"

The White Crane Gate Supreme Elder's hair stood on end with rage, then twisted into a cold sneer: "He's probably using some secret technique or pill to artificially cling to life—likely unable to move a single finger now."

The cultivation world had countless secret methods; artificially prolonging life wasn't unheard of.

Given the Mu family's resources, possessing one or two such treasures was perfectly normal.

But this left the White Crane Gate Supreme Elder in agony.

After all… he couldn't risk it.

If he lost the gamble, he'd lose his own life.

Thus, even though he'd gathered some formation-breaking treasures, White Crane Gate still dared not launch a full-scale assault on Mu family's Mount Mount Baihua until Mu Mu Wulong's death was confirmed. "Though he hasn't died, he's nearly there… Mu Mu Wulong summoned us today and said he'd use the 'Demon Transformation Core Technique' to remove Mu Qingshi's false core and rebuild his foundation…"

Mu Mu Qingbai hesitated, then spoke.

He knew that revealing this information meant complete betrayal of the Mu family.

After all, Mu Mu Qingshi was the Mu family's greatest hope!

But what could he do? He'd already used the worm to sabotage Mu Mu Qingshi—there was no turning back.

Now, even if the Mu family weakened further, he had to ensure Mu Mu Qingshi was utterly destroyed!

"The Demon Transformation Core Technique?"

The White Crane Gate Supreme Elder froze, then said: "I've heard of this infamous demonic technique—but only a Nascent Soul True Immortal can wield it. Even if later refinements lowered the requirement, it would still demand at least a late Golden Core master… How could this dying old man, Mu Mu Wulong, possibly possess such power? No… this is dangerous."

The White Crane Gate Supreme Elder, at least, had some insight: "This is likely the old devil's trap—you've been exposed!"

"What?"

Mu Mu Qingbai turned pale. Before he could speak, a beam of light shattered through the chamber.

A five-element radiant light descended, forming multicolored chains that bound him tightly.

All the five-element radiance originated from a small mirror.

The one wielding this treasure, of course, was the false-core cultivator Mu Wanzhang.

With his false-core spiritual energy and the clan's powerful inherited treasure, subduing a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator was like catching a fish in a barrel.

Fang Xing coughed once and stepped out from behind Mu Wanzhang.

"Family Head… Supreme Elder?"

Seeing this, Mu Mu Qingbai's face turned ashen.

"Cough… cough… I originally thought Mu Qingshi's spiritual root talent, combined with the Golden Core Pill, meant even if he failed to form a Golden Core, the outcome wouldn't be this dire… So I merely played a small trick. I never expected someone was truly manipulating things behind the scenes."

Fang Xing coughed again, his body gaunt and frail, then turned to the green mystic mirror: "White Crane Old Devil…"

"Mu Old Devil…"

The White Crane Gate Supreme Elder no longer appeared composed; his eyes glowed red, as if he wanted to tear off a chunk of Fang Xing's flesh: "Today, you've won. But the road ahead is long—we'll play this game slowly… heh. Though, Mu Old Devil, you may not have a tomorrow."

No sooner had he spoken than the green mystic mirror shattered into fragments, reverting to a green talisman that instantly burst into flames.

"What happened?"

The commotion in this place had drawn more and more Mu family cultivators.

Even Mu Mu Qingshi, who had been in seclusion, was startled awake.

"Mu Mu Qingbai—you conspired with White Crane Gate, schemed against our family's prodigy, and betrayed our secrets… your crime deserves death!"

Mu Wanzhang declared Mu Mu Qingbai's crimes: "You will die—and your direct descendants will be erased from the family register, never to be reinstated!"

In a cultivation family, one traitor dragging down the entire household was normal.

Of course, only three generations of direct bloodline were punished—no one extended it to nine clans, unless they wanted to commit collective suicide.

"Mu Mu Qingbai, you truly deserve to die!"

In the end, Mu Mu Qingshi personally carried out the execution, blasting Mu Mu Qingbai into a pulp with a single spell.

In truth, the one most injured in this incident was him.

Not only had Mu Mu Qingbai tricked him into turning his true core into a false core,

But Fang Xing had also dangled a false promise before him.

And now he was told… the Demon Transformation Core Technique was a lie?

This filled Mu Mu Qingshi with unbearable frustration—he couldn't argue with the Supreme Elder, so he vented all his rage on Mu Mu Qingbai.

He was even willing to bear eternal infamy to ensure the man died without a whole corpse, just for the sake of his own satisfaction.

"Hmm… once a false core is formed, one's future dims—and one's personality inevitably changes."

Fang Xing glanced a few times, utterly uninterested in these trivial matters. He didn't return to his chamber but went straight to the Mu family's treasure vault, retrieved three grade-four pill formulas, and bundled up the herbs he was missing.

He hadn't helped the Mu family expose the mole for free.

Taking a few things as payment for his trouble was perfectly reasonable.

"When I return, I'll start practicing with these grade-four pill formulas…"

"Then, focus entirely on cultivation—once my Golden Core is perfected, I'll immediately refine the 'Nascent Soul Pill'…"

"I won't emerge from seclusion until I form a Nascent Soul."

Though the Mu family is now in ruins, with their ancestral resources, they can still slowly squander their wealth for decades, even centuries.

If Mu Wanzhang suddenly became ambitious, taking reckless risks, he might lose the entire family fortune overnight.

Therefore, sometimes it benefits the family for the head to be a mediocre, conservative figure—even a fool.

(End of Chapter)