Chapter 327 - 322: The Peach Blossoms Are Beautiful, This Is a Good Place

After receiving replies from Fang Hua, Master Wu Fei, Zeng Baoming, and the others, Du Youqian went out to find Master Wu Ai.

In truth, he could have located Master Wu Ai instantly with a sweep of his Divine Sense.

But that would have been somewhat impolite.

However, the area they usually frequented wasn’t large, and the Beautiful Daoist Nun wasn’t the type to be lively and active, wandering all over the mountain.

So, very soon, Du Youqian saw a woman in white with her hair down, standing with her head bowed before Long Ruzhen’s grave as Peach Blossoms drifted onto her shoulders.

He couldn’t see her face, but her silhouette felt incredibly familiar.

’Was this scene from a dream, or was it real?’

Du Youqian’s heart leaped. The name "Ruzhen," caught in his throat, was forced back down by his reason.

But he was unwilling to break the indescribable atmosphere of the moment, so he simply stood and watched from a distance.

Looking more closely now, he could perceive the many ways this silhouette differed from Long Ruzhen’s.

Du Youqian smiled self-deprecatingly, finding it absurd that he had been so captivated, his eyes and mind so easily deceived.

After a long while, the woman in white finally turned around. Who else could it be but Master Wu Ai?

Only today, she was neither wearing a Daoist Robe nor had her hair in a Daoist Bun. Instead, she was dressed like an ordinary woman in a long, cross-collared white skirt embroidered with golden thread. Her lustrous black hair was unbound, held in place only by a simple wooden hairpin at the crown of her head.

That was why, for that one fleeting moment, Du Youqian had mistaken her silhouette for Long Ruzhen’s.

"Fellow Daoist, did you need something from this humble Daoist?" The Beautiful Daoist Nun’s eyes held a hint of a smile.

"Yes," Du Youqian suppressed the awkwardness in his heart and smiled. "I have made all the arrangements. Our allies are ready and waiting. Although they haven’t entered the Wu Kingdom yet, they can all use their own methods to provide reinforcements at a moment’s notice. Our own task is a difficult one. Never mind whether the mastermind will act personally; he will send at least ten, perhaps even twenty, Core Formation Masters. We must hold them off for at least the time it takes an incense stick to burn."

The Beautiful Daoist Nun beamed. "You’ve had this planned for a long time, Fellow Daoist. This humble Daoist isn’t worried. Even if twenty Core Formation Masters were to attack, they wouldn’t be able to break through these Tier Three Grand Arrays in a short time."

Du Youqian nodded. He was naturally very proud of his Arrays; after all, it was the skill he was most proficient in.

"It’s not just the Arrays."

"?" The Beautiful Daoist Nun’s gaze was questioning.

"The last time I visited the Taihe Sect, I discussed an issue with your sect’s Elder Wu Fei. During the incident over forty years ago, we discovered that many of the Core Formation Masters working for that mysterious organization were spies hidden within the Major Sects. We have secretly identified some of them over these past four decades."

"They have betrayed their Sects, but after discussing it, Elder Wu Fei and I came to a conclusion—most of them can still be won over."

"They are all top-tier Cultivators in Momenan. As our elite forces, they can’t be dealt with lightly. Perhaps many of them are banking on this very fact as they serve that mysterious organization."

"Many of them hide their identities not to steal intelligence, but to play both sides. They think they can reap benefits from both. If the mysterious organization gains the upper hand, they’ll serve it. If it falls, they can switch back and become pillars of their Sects again."

The Beautiful Daoist Nun’s expression grew serious. She didn’t respond immediately, pondering for a moment before nodding heavily. "You make a good point, Fellow Daoist. So, are you and Elder Wu Fei planning to win them back over?"

"As I just said, some of them can be won over. Elder Wu Fei, along with the Supreme Elders of several other sects, will each approach these individuals and have them turn on their allies at our signal during the attack on Soul-shaking Mountain."

The Beautiful Daoist Nun’s expression naturally relaxed into one of relief and joy. "In that case, we will surely be able to avenge Martial Uncle Wu Jiu in this battle."

"We should be able to," Du Youqian said.

However, he had sent a message to Lin Sha, and had her relay it to Meng Xiao and Luo Jinyu.

The three of them were not to turn on their allies this time, but to flee the moment something seemed wrong.

If they failed to kill the mastermind, Pang Master, this time, they would need to continue their infiltration at his side to gather more information.

"When the time comes, I will communicate with you via Divine Sense and tell you which individuals to spare. Before they attack Soul-shaking Mountain, they will all use a Secret Technique to alter their appearance, aura, and even their Divine Sense fluctuations. But as agreed, they will leave a specific mark for us to recognize them by."

"This humble Daoist understands."

Du Youqian’s gaze swept over Long Ruzhen’s tombstone as he asked with feigned casualness, "What are you looking at here, Fellow Daoist?"

The Beautiful Daoist Nun didn’t answer directly. Instead, she asked, "The ancestor buried here seems to be extremely important to you, Fellow Daoist. This humble Daoist has noticed that the grave is always kept clean and well-tended. And since this place should belong to you, protected by an Array, no outsiders could possibly get in."

"Just some old stories," Du Youqian said faintly.

He neither confirmed nor denied it.

In a rare display of aggression, the Beautiful Daoist Nun asked, "Does it displease you, Fellow Daoist, that this humble Daoist is staring at this grave?"

"I’m not displeased, just surprised. Fellow Daoist Wu Ai, you usually seem so detached from worldly affairs, as if nothing can trouble your heart. You have compassion for the world, but it’s a compassion for humanity as a whole, never for any specific individual. So I am quite surprised that you would gaze so intently at that tombstone." Du Youqian, of course, would not reveal his true feelings.

’An old actor like me won’t have his cards read so easily.’

The Beautiful Daoist Nun’s voice was soft. "For some reason, as this humble Daoist looks at this grave, I feel a baseless sense of sorrow and nostalgia. Yet I don’t know what I’m sorrowful for, or what I’m nostalgic about. These unfounded Emotions that have sprung up may be a test for my state of mind and Cultivation... so this humble Daoist has been staring at it."

Du Youqian was silent for a moment before asking, "Then what have you comprehended after looking for so long?"

The Beautiful Daoist Nun’s tone was light. "The Peach Blossoms are beautiful, and the view here is excellent. Nourished by Spiritual Qi for several hundred years, this place has become a land of auspicious Feng Shui. It’s quite nice."

"And so?" Du Youqian asked.

The Beautiful Daoist Nun turned gracefully and walked toward the Daoist Temple.

Just as she was about to enter the temple, her voice drifted back from the distance, "So, this place is very good."

Du Youqian felt he had grasped what the Beautiful Daoist Nun was trying to express.

But he wasn’t sure if he had misunderstood.

After the Beautiful Daoist Nun’s figure disappeared into the Daoist Temple, Du Youqian shrugged.

’Whatever. Why bother overthinking it?’

’A great battle is imminent. This is no time to get bogged down in trivialities.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Du Youqian was playing the zither under a peach tree.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. He put away the zither and rode a Flying Sword to the edge of the Array.

There, he saw a handsome young Foundation Establishment Cultivator standing on a cloud-shaped Flying Spiritual Artifact. The young man smiled and bowed. "Mr. Baili, it has been a while! Have you decided whether you are willing to join forces with me?"

The voice seemed to hold a smile, but upon closer listening, it was utterly cold and devoid of emotion.

Through the man’s outer shell, Du Youqian could almost see a cunning, ancient soul.

’So this is the mastermind.’

The incident with Little Sister Jie had been his first contact with this person.

Then, over forty years ago, they had exchanged a single blow.

This was their third "meeting."

Du Youqian suddenly spoke, "Fellow Daoist Pang, why be so furtive? Why not show your true face?"

The man feigned a confused expression. "Mr. Baili, what are you talking about?"

His acting was good, but his voice, devoid of emotion, lacked any soul.

Du Youqian shook his head. "Fellow Daoist Pang, I’m not trying to trick you. In fact, I’ve long been certain it was you. I just don’t understand... back then, I clearly saw your corpse. Why...?"

The other man was silent for a long time before smiling again. "Are you telling me, Fellow Daoist, that you are Master You De, who has performed a Possession? How candid of you. However, I am indeed not the Pang Master you speak of. As for you seeing Pang Master’s corpse... there are so many Demon Sect Secret Techniques. Are you certain you know them all, Fellow Daoist? Physical death is not the final end for a Golden Core Divine Power User."

His words seemed contradictory. He claimed he wasn’t Pang Master, yet he also revealed that he knew Master You De, "Yu Fei," had been present at Pang Master’s corpse. Despite this, Du Youqian was inclined to believe he was telling the truth.

In other words, perhaps this person was once Pang Master, but some kind of transformation must have occurred, causing him to believe he was no longer Pang Master.

The line "Physical death is not the final end for a Golden Core Divine Power User" was also quite noteworthy.

"I see," Du Youqian said. "Then how should I address you, Fellow Daoist?"

The other man smiled. "Mr. Baili, you may as well continue calling me Fellow Daoist Pang. It’s just a title. It doesn’t matter."

"There is something I don’t understand, and I hope you can enlighten me," Du Youqian said, seizing the opportunity when he saw the man was genuinely open to conversation. "Since you want to leave this world, Fellow Daoist, why did you destroy the Teleportation Array leading to the outside? And why frame Wu Nian Master for it?"

The man’s smile became obviously fake. "I have my own considerations. It is not convenient to tell you the details."

Du Youqian understood. Wu Nian Master had indeed been framed.