Chapter 407 - 204: Righteousness and Evil
Shangguan Ming and Shangguan Cheng’en, one dressed in gray and the other in gold, approached the group from Cyan Lotus Daoist Palace with a friendly demeanor and exchanged pleasantries with Li Fanzhou and several others.
The main purpose was to apologize for the previous incident, but the Daoist Palace no longer wished to dwell on it, so the conversation was merely perfunctory.
During this process, it was mainly the elder Shangguan Ming who spoke, while Shangguan Cheng’en lagged a step behind, silently hanging his head with hands in sleeves, saying nothing.
In front of them, the scene appeared quite normal; not even Chu Xuan could detect anything suspicious, and even Li Fanzhou, a high-level cultivator, appeared serene.
Soon, the two of them took their leave, not even exchanging a word with Chu Xuan, only nodding politely at him.
However, Chu Xuan slightly furrowed his brows. After obtaining the essence blood of the Long-armed Ape, he cultivated a Divine Technique called "Discern Fortune and Misfortune," which could distinguish between omens, similar to the insight ability of high-level cultivators.
Honestly, this ability had hardly been used since cultivation, perhaps due to reaching only the second layer (out of five layers complete), rendering it almost useless.
But just now, "Discern Fortune and Misfortune" had involuntarily activated, prompting him to discreetly take out the Divine Command, making the uneasy premonition more vivid, proving it wasn’t his imagination.
Yet these two clan elders genuinely did nothing suspicious, behaving very amicably throughout. Chu Xuan couldn’t possibly act against them without a word, could he?
Only after the two had left did he use Divine Sense to quietly ask Qing’er, "Did those two exhibit any unusual behavior?"
Qing’er was puzzled, "No, nothing out of the ordinary."
"Oh, but that golden Magical Robe on Shangguan Cheng’en is a treasure, an inheritance from the Profound Celestial Sect called ’Golden Crow Surrounding the Sun.’"
"The Shangguan family no longer hesitates to use their best treasures openly now."
"What are its effects?" Chu Xuan pursued further.
Qing’er recalled, "It is said to have a strong life-saving capability, adept at defense, teleportation, and concealment. When activated, nine Great Sun Golden Crows encircle to protect."
Concealment? Shadows clouded Chu Xuan’s heart.
...
The two clan elders maintained a facade of calm once they returned to their faction.
However, Shangguan Ming urgently asked through transmission, "How did it go? Is it him?"
It was precisely Shangguan Cheng’en who secretly employed a Secret Technique to trigger a painting of the Celestial Evil Demon Venerable, concealed by a Celestial Tier Magical Robe, making the action imperceptibly subtle to outsiders.
This painting, reportedly created by a woman for the Celestial Evil, was salvaged after she left her sect to join him, leading to it being preserved despite her belongings being destroyed.
After the third battle between righteousness and evil concluded, the painting ended up with the Shangguan family, crafted into a special artifact by the Patriarch, capable of resonating with the Celestial Evil’s true form.
According to the Patriarch, if Chu Xuan were related to the Celestial Evil, the painting would exhibit anomalies.
Upon hearing his brother’s inquiry, Shangguan Cheng’en looked troubled, repeatedly using Divine Sense to check the scroll hidden in his sleeve, but there was no reaction! No reaction at all...
What does this indicate? Chu Xuan is unrelated to the Celestial Evil? Have they really mistaken him for someone else??
Shangguan Ming was momentarily stupefied, "I already mentioned that Gu Jianjia had tested it before; it wasn’t worth trying again. The authority figure is overly suspicious."
Immediately, regaining composure, he asked, "What’s our next move?"
Shangguan Cheng’en appeared indifferent, "Didn’t we speculate such a possibility during our previous discussion?"
"At the time, we also consulted the authority figure, who indicated... better to mistakenly eliminate, than let escape!"
Chill settled in Shangguan Ming’s heart.
Shangguan Cheng’en continued, "Moreover, he mentioned that the Celestial Evil possessed a high-level artifact capable of obscuring celestial secrets. Although the painting underwent enshrinement with Yuqing Immortal Techniques by the Patriarch, its effects being suppressed remains possible, hence no anomaly."
"The only certainty is the connection of aura between the two!"
"This painting, embodying him personally, bearing his inscribed words and stamp gaining the original owner’s approval, the causality is established, just that the link isn’t strong enough yet."
"Therefore, let’s proceed with this method..." Shangguan Cheng’en covertly shared his thoughts, concluding:
"If it ultimately succeeds, then he undeniably is the Celestial Evil."
Shangguan Ming nodded secretly and began a secret discussion with two strong family members through jade talismans, requesting them to act with full force in the Grotto Heaven later!
...
Over on Gu Jianjia’s side, she was initially taken to the home of Zichen secretly by her daughter, where she inevitably inquired about the reason.
Gu Haitang noticed that her mother hadn’t realized Chu Xuan’s true identity, her heart skipped a beat; was she mistaken?
Contemplating further, Haitang dared not reveal the truth to her mother, fearing her intense opposition. She finally explained that after being away for years, she feared clan elders taking out frustrations on her mother, so brought her over to fulfill her filial duty.
Gu Jianjia initially thought her daughter had detected the family’s long-concealed darkness, leading her to rescue her. However, her daughter seemed entirely clueless.
This left Gu Jianjia a bit disappointed; she initially intended to tell her daughter the truth, but seeing her daughter still immature, she decided to wait for a more suitable opportunity.
Thus, mother and daughter, each "concealing secrets," agreed to discuss it later; amid such information asymmetry, they followed Zichen’s people to the Grotto Heaven.
Even though a few ancient ones were excessively courteous, Gu Jianjia didn’t dwell on it. Haitang’s talent was exceptionally outstanding and held precious by the Shangguan family, and it seemed they were adopting a conciliatory approach, hoping she would return on her own.