Chapter 408 - 204: Good and Evil (2)
...
Apart from the Shangguan family, while Chu Xuan was entangled with several women, there was someone secretly observing him.
It was a middle-aged man in a blue long robe, with a black-sheathed long knife at his waist and a weary gaze. He blended inconspicuously among a group of loose cultivators, unnoticed by anyone.
He knew the Shangguan family once harbored suspicions about Chu Xuan, but later seemed to have dispelled them? Hence the wedding, which initially he didn’t care much about.
However, upon seeing several pretty women competing over Chu Xuan, he couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of familiarity.
Although he was just a minor character in the past, having only received the Celestial Evil Demon Venerable’s favor, and didn’t share a deep bond, he had witnessed similar scenes.
Another point of suspicion was his early encounter with Su Mengqing. Suddenly seeing this flawless immortal running to mingle with younger generations was quite shocking.
Could he have mistaken someone else for her? Was this woman merely a descendant of the flawless immortal?
The man continued to observe for a while, convinced it was indeed Su Mengqing. His extensive knife training to this level honed a swordsman’s intuition; he would not mistake her.
Thus, Chu Xuan became a focal point of his observation, even if Su Mengqing and the Celestial Evil Demon Venerable were mortal enemies.
...
As time passed, more sects arrived, and Qing’er had long returned to that side of the Heavenly Ruins.
Even if few could recognize her now, it was still unsuitable for her to get too close to Chu Xuan to avoid suspicion.
Chu Xuan scanned the sects currently present.
From the righteous path: Celestial Sword Palace, Minglun Confucian Sect, Luoxue Mountain Manor, Daoist Temple of Unity, Yuntian Cliff;
From the demonic paths: Mo Luo Palace, Nine Nether Sect, Ghost City, Hehuan Sect, Four Extremes of Ignorance;
Neutral sects: Fire Forge, Celestial Human Treasure Pavilion, Wugen Ping, Wuyou Valley, Beiming Mansion;
And from the demon tribes: Palace of Nuwa, Four Seas Dragon Palace, Tushan, Qingqiu Grotto Heaven; Buddhist sects: Alanda Temple, Shuiyue Nunnery.
It seemed similar to last time, yet included many sects Chu Xuan didn’t recognize, including some reclusive cultivation sects, with high-ranking attendees.
This gave Chu Xuan a silent headache. Do they really believe there’s some rare treasure here? Despite the Celestial Evil Demon Venerable claiming to have made his fortune here, he only obtained a few items.
And the best ones have already been taken. What are these newcomers expecting?
Notably, Dragon Maiden Chu Xiang’er timidly followed a dignified man in imperial robes, with dragon horns and a powerful aura, likely the current East Sea Dragon King.
Xiang’er dared not approach Chu Xuan to reminisce, and merely blinked at him from afar. Chu Xuan gave her a slight smile, making her expression cheer up.
The old Dragon King, Dantai Ya, cast a sidelong glance, his golden pupils radiating intense pressure. Most who meet his gaze would tremble and collapse, but Chu Xuan remained fearless, calmly meeting his gaze.
Only when Dantai Ya looked away did Chu Xuan shift his gaze.
Hehuan Sect’s Sect Leader, Chen Yunqi, naturally arrived. She discreetly sent a message to Chu Xuan using an enticingly seductive tone: "Young Master Chu, look after your own people later~"
Chu Xuan felt somewhat helpless and had already informed her, "Using the axis line of the main peak and main hall, seven to the right and two to exchange, that palace should hold matters related to the ’Yin-Yang Dao’."
Chen Yunqi’s eyes immediately lit up with delight. She hadn’t expected any result just by casually mentioning this, but hadn’t thought Chu Xuan remembered so clearly.
She repeatedly thanked him, "If there’s any gain this time, please visit our sect again, Yunqi will certainly repay the favor well~"
Chu Xuan could guess with his toes how she planned to "repay," and simply pretended not to hear.
Lady Baihua of Wuyou Valley was also present. Seeing Chu Xuan holding a small snow mink, she seemed quite pleasantly surprised, and they nodded to each other from afar.
Finally, over at the Palace of Nuwa, the usual two twin guardians arrived, but Chu Xuan was thrown off by the addition of a chirping lark, seemingly a yet-to-transform little demon.
Chu Xuan knew it couldn’t be some reincarnation. He just remembered Xiao Yun’s memories: the Palace of Nuwa brought a little bird, leading him to suspect the demon sage had done this deliberately...
Chu Xuan’s gaze swept high and low, missing the sight of a robust male cultivator from the small sect, Nine Dragon Sect, muttering something to his junior brother.
The junior brother was a pale-faced young man with double pupils and an impressive demeanor. His physique was well-proportioned in muscle and bone, holding immense explosive power, clearly a body refinement cultivator.
At this moment, the young man’s gaze towards Chu Xuan was intense and thankful, yet he refrained from approaching him, feeling unworthy until he broke through the fourth realm to thank his benefactor.
As the moment for the Grotto Heaven to open approached, a faint, translucent silhouette from the void began invading reality, slowly sketching out in the sky above the sea.
The crowd rapidly retreated, giving way, lest they find themselves trapped beneath the Grotto Heaven, barely surviving at best.
Just as the tense anticipation reached its peak, a fierce argument suddenly erupted somewhere, capturing attention.
Chu Xuan looked in surprise, seeing a sword cultivator from Celestial Sword Palace clashing with a black-robed youth from Mo Luo Palace.
The sword cultivator appeared enraged, while the black-robed youth sneered:
"Consider the bigger picture? Advising us at such a time, don’t you find it laughable?"
"Have you righteous folks ever pondered? Why has this phenomenon of heaven collapsing and earth splitting occurred? Such worldly calamities can’t simply be pinned on us demonic path folks, can they?"
"From our sect’s perspective, the immortal gods and buddhas of the heavens survive as long as the heavens and earth because they feed on the ’spiritual essence’ of beings across the three realms. The spiritual essence of the human realm is insufficient, hence the signs of world collapse."
"Eternal life... aren’t the three realms and six paths doomed because of these four words?"
"Those ’big personalities’ up there feast on the people’s blood and sweat, satisfying themselves while leaving us ’commoners’ to bear the consequences? On what grounds?!"
The black-robed youth’s words instantly caused an uproar, resonating strongly among many loose cultivators.
Honestly, no one understood why these calamities happened, but in recent years, cultivators were indeed anxious, even under relatively manageable circumstances.
The righteous sects explained: accumulated worldly karma caused this, urging virtue, good deeds, and cooperative efforts.
They preached that the heavenly realm wouldn’t ignore this, the human realm wouldn’t perish, and advised against despair, collectively tackling the calamity, awaiting opportunities for change.
However, the demonic path’s conspiracy theories clearly resonated more with the wider cultivator community; the heavenly realm had done nothing to intervene, despite countless offerings to various deities being burned.
Previously, divine responses like "acknowledged" were received, but recently, even those ceased.
If not for the mostly normal functioning of the human realm and underworld, suspicions of trouble in the heavenly realm would abound.
"You’re ranting!" The sword cultivator was understandably furious, "All conjecture without any evidence!"
The black-robed youth sneered, "Evidence? Did you provide evidence for your ’karma theory’?"
"With extinction imminent, those celestial beings hardly care about us, likely packing for a flight."
"I advise abandoning these laughable ’ignorance tactics’ and think more about your escape route."