Chapter 588: Kong Yang’s Secret Art
Su Hongzhen was momentarily stunned.
He certainly hadn't expected that the one-eyed old man before him would actually recognize him. After all, up until now, the only times he had publicly appeared under the identity of Su Hongzhen were at Heavenly Summit Mountain and in Huangquan City of Liaolong.
Oh, right, and also on that ferry.
But the blue-robed swordsman said nothing, simply walking toward the upper floor that the one-eyed old man had just indicated.
Third floor, second private room from the left.
Su Hongzhen arrived at the half-open door, raised his hand, and gently knocked twice.
But the moment his hand touched the door, it naturally swung open inward.
Behind the door, seated by the window, was a young cultivator dressed in pure white daoist robes, gentle and refined like bamboo.
"Long time no see, Champion Su."
Li Haoran smiled.
"Chief Disciple Li."
Su Hongzhen responded, then shook his head:
"No, it should be Daomen Xingzou Li now."
Indeed, Li Haoran now wore two tokens at his waist. One was engraved with just four characters: "Kongshan Kongyuan." The other followed the standard Kongshan Sect token design but was engraved with "Daomen Xingzou."
Since the end of the Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry, during these five years, Li Haoran's cultivation had also reached the mid-stage of the Qi Sea Realm. He had stepped down from his position as chief disciple of Kongyuan Mountain and taken on the role of Daomen Xingzou for the Kongshan Sect.
"I didn't expect to see you here."
Su Hongzhen said.
"I didn't expect it either. After the Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry ended, I only heard that Champion Su had returned home with honor, and then there was never any news about Champion Su again."
Li Haoran smiled:
"When Elder Tian said you were near the teahouse, it really startled me."
"Elder Tian?"
Su Hongzhen was puzzled by this unfamiliar name.
"He's the one you met downstairs just now."
Li Haoran said.
Su Hongzhen remembered the one-eyed old man in gray daoist robes, thin and withered.
"In the last Dao Inquiry Assembly of Chenping Continent, Elder Tian was one of our Kongshan Sect's delegation members. Now, he's our planted agent in Bailing City."
Li Haoran continued.
"Having an elder from one of the Five Great Sects act as a planted agent..."
Su Hongzhen said slowly:
"Then, this Bailing City..."
A smile spread across Li Haoran's face. He raised his hand and gently waved it in the air, causing the room's door to automatically close. He then activated the Void Absorption Guidance, completely isolating the room from the outside world, ensuring not a single word would leak.
"It has major problems. Or rather, the White Egret Sect has major problems."
Li Haoran said:
"In recent years, on the northeast side of the Martial Immortal Mountain Range, many baffling incidents have occurred. Coupled with the fact that Lu Xiu, the current sect leader of the White Egret Sect, seems to be advancing in cultivation a bit too quickly, the sect suspects those baffling incidents might be connected to the White Egret Sect."
"What baffling incidents?"
Su Hongzhen asked.
"A lot of people have died. And they were all mortals, not cultivators."
Li Haoran paused briefly, then continued:
"It's not that our sect wants to meddle in mortal affairs, but these mortals died in such an extraordinarily suspicious way that we can basically confirm it was the work of cultivators."
"Any more details?"
Su Hongzhen pressed on.
"For example, half a year ago, seven thousand li from this Bailing City, there was a city called Zhaoque. Its population of over seven hundred thousand all died within a single night."
Li Haoran said:
"And, none of them had any external injuries."
Only cultivators could accomplish such a thing.
And upon hearing the situation Li Haoran described, Su Hongzhen already had an answer in his heart.
It was exactly the same as what had happened at the Kang Mansion in Yunxi and at Moxu Mountain.
Which meant—
It was the work of the Mirage Palace.
...
Heavenly Summit Mountain, Profound Scripture Hall.
A handsome young man in plain white daoist robes sat alone on the main seat.
Nearly five years had passed.
As for the enormous pitch-black rift that had spanned the entire sky before, it was eventually glossed over with the excuse that Kongshan Sect's Ren Anhe had tried to forcefully push his way to immortality and damaged his Dao Basis.
During these five years, Chen Yan had indeed mobilized the Five Great Sects, having them scour the world to collect various scriptures and search for a way to sever cause and effect.
This kind of task was indeed too difficult for those Dao Union realm cultivators.
After all, so-called cause and effect was something only Ascending to Immortality realm cultivators could even begin to understand.
But there was no other choice.
Because Chen Yan's current cultivation was merely at peak Divine Ability Realm, just posturing all along.
The sound of footsteps and a cane slowly came from outside the Profound Scripture Hall. Chen Yan looked up and watched as an old man in pure white daoist robes slowly stepped into the hall.
"Senior."
Ren Anhe respectfully bowed toward Chen Yan.
"What, found a way to sever the 'Cause of Calamity'?"
Chen Yan asked.
"This junior has not found any new discoveries."
Ren Anhe said:
"It's just that this junior suddenly recalled some past events that might be useful."
"Speak."
Chen Yan felt a bit disappointed inside, but he didn't show it on his face.
"It concerns some matters of True Person Caiyun, the previous Ascended Steward of our Kongshan Sect."
Kong Yang's past?
Chen Yan's breath caught slightly.
Right, Kong Yang!
Among the thirty Ascending to Immortality realm cultivators who had ever appeared on the Chenping Continent, besides Immortal Venerable Fusheng—or rather, Fusheng the Ultimate Sage—there was probably no other Ascending to Immortality cultivator who could claim to have a better understanding of cause and effect than Kong Yang.
And Kong Yang's fall was, to some extent, precisely because of his overconfidence in cause and effect.
"In the past, this junior had a disciple named Ruan Shu. He was the greatest prodigy of our Kongshan Sect's Qingchan Peak after Patriarch Kong."
As Ren Anhe spoke, a somewhat regretful expression appeared on his face:
"If my disciple were still alive today, I believe his cultivation would have certainly surpassed mine, his master, and he might have even become the thirty-first Ascending to Immortality cultivator of Chenping Continent."
"How did this child fall?"
Chen Yan asked.
"According to Steward Caiyun, Ruan Shu had come into contact with some cause and effect he shouldn't have touched in a forbidden ground. And the only outcome after touching that kind of cause and effect was never being able to achieve Dao Union for all eternity."
Ren Anhe said:
"For Ruan Shu, who had a smooth immortal path and a great chance of ascending, this was undoubtedly a tremendous blow. So he knelt before Steward Caiyun's hall for seven days and seven nights, begging Steward Caiyun to help him sever the cause and effect on him."
"Continue."
Chen Yan said.
"In the end, Steward Caiyun gave Ruan Shu a handwritten copy. That copy recorded a secret art that the Steward himself had created. It was said that this art had a certain chance of separating the tainted cause and effect, but the chance was extremely slim. If it failed, the cultivator's soul would scatter into nothingness."
Ren Anhe said.
"So..."
"He failed."
As he spoke, Ren Anhe took out a thin book covered in mud and presented it with both hands toward Chen Yan:
"This handwritten copy is the secret art I dug out from my disciple's grave. Please take a look, Senior."