Chapter 58: The Truth

“Let’s go, younger brother!”

After leaving Yuning Palace, Zhao Linger took He Pingsheng’s hand: “Let’s go drink some spiritual tea at Old Eight’s place and chat a bit!”

Beside them, Old Eight Xu Kunlun and Old Seven Tian Xiaoqing both stared at He Pingsheng!

Both wore expressions full of anticipation.

“Alright… let’s go!”

He Pingsheng naturally couldn’t afford to be ungrateful, so he agreed outright.

“Hahaha…” The fat man Xu Kunlun beamed with joy. “Perfect! Come on, come on, Ninth Brother—I’ve got spiritual tea at my place, you’ll love it!”

“Let’s go!”

At first, He Pingsheng thought these people were trying to recruit him to help them refine elixirs.

He didn’t refuse because he figured refining pills was no big deal—just one extra furnace per month would suffice.

But he was wrong.

They had no intention of asking him to refine elixirs.

Entering Xu Kunlun’s courtyard, they sat down inside his room.

Xu Kunlun said: “Come, come, drink your tea… We’ve gathered today because the [Cuiping Mountain Trial] is coming soon.”

As he poured tea for everyone, he added: “It happens once every thirty years, and none of us have ever entered—but they say it’s extremely dangerous. Our senior brothers are all at the peak of Qi Refining, and they won’t take us along. So the four of us, all at late-stage Qi Refining, are stuck together!”

He Pingsheng nodded.

That was true.

Among the nine disciples under Yuning, the first five had cultivation bases of Qi Refining Level 10 or higher—the peak of Qi Refining.

They usually stuck together and rarely included Xu Kunlun and the others.

“Let me say this first!” Xu Kunlun said. “We’re all fellow disciples—not siblings, but closer than siblings. Once we enter the secret realm, the four of us must stand together and seek opportunities as one!”

“Whatever treasures we find, we’ll divide them according to contribution—agreed?”

Xu Kunlun looked at the group.

“I’m fine with it!” Zhao Linger raised her hand in agreement.

Tian Xiaoqing said: “Me too!”

He Pingsheng also said: “Me too!”

For He Pingsheng, having a team to advance and retreat with was perfect.

He didn’t believe a mere Qi Refining Level 7 disciple like himself would encounter any miraculous opportunities inside.

Of course, he was currently at Level 6—Level 7 was what he’d reach later.

“Then it’s settled!” Xu Kunlun said. “And once Ninth Brother breaks through to Level 7, we’ll all go together to Mount Matou to buy some defensive items—better safe than sorry!”

Everyone naturally agreed.

After that, Xu Kunlun looked seriously at He Pingsheng and said: “Younger Brother He, I was away from the sect recently—I heard you nearly got swallowed by that beast raised by Master Yude?”

He Pingsheng nodded. “Yes… but it’s not the beast’s fault—it was someone who set me up.”

“I get it!” Xu Kunlun said. “That little bitch Linglong… damn it, if she ever falls into my hands, I’ll definitely j…”

He glanced at Tian Xiaoqing and Zhao Linger beside him, realized it was inappropriate, and quickly corrected himself: “Kill her! This woman is too arrogant, too vile…”

“You don’t know—she’s been hurting people for years, just because she’s Master Yude’s granddaughter!”

“Back then, in our Xiuzhu Peak’s alchemy room, there was a junior acolyte named Hao Yun…” Xu Kunlun counted off on his fingers like reciting family history. “She went to refine elixirs, failed, and blamed Hao Yun!”

“She beat Hao Yun half to death—then that little bastard somehow got his hands on a top-grade [Golden Bone Elixir], swallowed it, and she tortured him all night to find out where he got it!”

“That kid had guts—he never talked, even when he died.”

“In the end, the little bitch killed him.”

He Pingsheng’s face remained calm, but his heart surged with shock: Brother Hao… he never betrayed me, even in death.

“Sigh…” Tian Xiaoqing sighed. “So what?”

“Hao Yun was just a lowly outer disciple, while Linglong is Master Yude’s granddaughter. Even after she killed him, all she got was seven days of penance!”

“That’s a human life!”

“And recently, when she tried to frame Younger Brother He, that acolyte Mingzhu died too, didn’t he?”

“That was her doing too!”

Tian Xiaoqing’s face turned pale. “Two lives—gone in an instant. This woman is truly heartless!”

“It doesn’t stop there!” Xu Kunlun continued. “I remember a few years ago, when I was only at Qi Refining Level 5—back then, Linglong already killed a married couple. There was an outer disciple named He Sanjie who angered her, and she ordered that giant python to swallow him whole!”

He Pingsheng’s body jerked violently.

He Sanjie?

He Sanjie?

Isn’t that my father?

“And then…?” he asked, voice trembling.

Xu Kunlun said: “Then? His wife came to demand justice—and Master Yude cut her down too. Sigh… this woman… truly evil!”

He Pingsheng gently closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He struggled to hold back his tears.

He forced himself to stay calm!

Father!

Mother!

So this is how they died?

Jiang Uncle once told him his father was killed by a beast during an outing, and his mother went to avenge him—and was killed too.

It wasn’t a beast.

It was a person.

It was this grandmother and granddaughter—Yude and Linglong.

“Younger Brother He!” Zhao Linger looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

He Pingsheng’s face was pale. He opened his eyes and forced a smile. “I… I’m a little scared…”

“A little… shaken.”

“Don’t be afraid!” Zhao Linger patted his shoulder. “It’s all over now—just be careful when you see her from now on!”

“By the way!” Tian Xiaoqing suddenly said. “What if Linglong targets us during the trial? Won’t she try to kill us?”

“So what?” Xu Kunlun slammed his fist on the table. “We’ll be four together—do you think she dares come kill us?”

Tian Xiaoqing said: “That’s true.”

They chatted back and forth, but He Pingsheng stayed silent.

He forced himself to remain calm.

Pieces from the past now connected, forming a clear chain of cause and effect.

He remembered—back when he worked as a laborer in the alchemy room with Hao Yun, Master Yuxuan once came to refine pills and asked him: “Do you know He Sanjie?”

He Pingsheng had said yes.

Later, Master Yuxuan warned him: “Never tell outsiders you’re He Sanjie’s son!”

Back then, he’d been confused.

Now he understood—Master Yuxuan was protecting him, hiding his identity from Yude and Linglong.

Now it all matched—the killers were clear.

It was Yude and his granddaughter.