Novel Full Chapter 20: The Bribery of Qingchan Peak
“What do you want to ask?”
Chu Xiyao slightly furrowed her brows as she spoke.
“What exactly was the intelligence that Steward Song had?”
“No comment.”
“Who killed Steward Song?”
“No comment.”
“Was Steward Song killed because of that intelligence he possessed?”
“No comment.”
“Did Steward Song voluntarily go to the detention center after embezzling the spirit stones from the accounts to protect the intelligence?”
“No comment.”
“Will the development of this matter affect the outer court? Perhaps something like an unprecedented great calamity?”
“Calamity?”
“Similar to a massive black snake projection…”
As these words were spoken, Chu Xiyao’s expression changed dramatically.
And Chen Yan also quite keenly detected the clues within her reaction.
“Just how much do you actually know?”
Chu Xiyao lowered her voice.
“Rather than that, Senior Sister Chu, you should first tell me what you know.”
Chen Yan said.
Chu Xiyao’s beautiful eyes, like autumn ponds, seemed to ripple with waves at first, but soon returned to calmness, as if she had finally composed herself.
“Three months ago, the Demon Suppression Stone sealing the remnant soul of the Black Flood Dragon, which was enshrined in Caijun Tower on Qingchan Peak, disappeared.”
Remnant soul of the Black Flood Dragon?
“That remnant soul of the Black Flood Dragon came from a great demon at the Dao Union Realm that Patriarch Caijun slew while traveling through the evil miasma lands.
“With compassionate heart, the Patriarch considered its cultivation journey difficult and spared a wisp of its remnant soul, bringing it back to Qingchan Peak for suppression.
“After Patriarch Caijun passed away, this wisp of the Black Flood Dragon’s remnant soul was moved into Caijun Tower. It has been ten thousand years since then, and that remnant soul still possesses combat power at or above the Unity Realm.”
Chu Xiyao explained to Chen Yan in a calm tone.
The Unity Realm is the first realm of the Upper Three Realms, above the Qi Sea Realm, Spirit Connection Realm, and Myriad Transformations Realm.
Cultivators at the Unity Realm, even among the five great sects of Chenping Continent like Kongshan Sect and Star Heaven Sect, are considered undisputed elite combatants.
That wisp of the Black Flood Dragon’s remnant soul had been suppressed in Caijun Tower for nearly ten thousand years, its consciousness long extinguished.
Even so, the demonic energy pressure it released in its unconscious state could still cause that great calamity in Kongshan Sect’s outer court within seven breaths.
Cultivators below the Martial Spring Realm, when facing the demonic pressure released by the Black Flood Dragon’s remnant soul, would at minimum suffer damaged meridians and shattered internal organs.
At worst, their souls would scatter and their bodies turn to dust.
Yet the Unity Realm Black Flood Dragon remnant soul was still slain by a clear-colored radiant light from Qingchan Peak.
Chen Yan remembered all of this clearly.
“So, Senior Sister Chu, when you were in the outer court two months ago, were you searching for that Demon Suppression Stone sealing the Black Flood Dragon’s remnant soul?”
Chen Yan asked.
“No.”
Chu Xiyao shook her head.
“With my abilities, I’m not capable of handling this matter.”
The current Chief Disciple of Qingchan Peak was only at the Martial Spring Realm in cultivation.
“How did you know about this? Clearly this matter…”
Even on Qingchan Peak, only very few people knew about it.
The four great elders, the Caijun Tower elder and the ceremonial official responsible for guarding the Demon Suppression Stone, the Qingchan Peak supervisor, and herself as Qingchan Peak’s Chief Disciple…
Every person who knew about the situation was absolutely trustworthy.
Which meant that this guy before her might be related to the person who stole the Black Flood Dragon’s Demon Suppression Stone?
Chu Xiyao’s gaze toward Chen Yan grew increasingly wary.
“Don’t look at me like that, Senior Sister Chu.”
Chen Yan said with a smile.
“I just had a dream, dreaming of a certain day two years from now…”
As he spoke, Chen Yan turned to look at the outer court Training Grounds beside the street, where nearly a hundred outer court disciples were gathered around it.
The outer court competition was about to be held at the Training Grounds, and the outer court disciples were currently making preparations for it.
“On a certain day two years from now, a black snake projection appears above the outer court Training Grounds. Seven breaths, a total of seven breaths’ time, and nearly ten thousand outer court disciples perish, their cultivation paths extinguished.”
Chen Yan said this.
“……”
Chu Xiyao remained silent.
Because such a thing could really happen, and the possibility was quite high.
Kongshan Sect had internal enemies – this was a fact that the sect’s higher-ups tacitly avoided mentioning openly but had long been mutually aware of.
The Demon Suppression Stone containing the Black Flood Dragon’s remnant soul definitely didn’t disappear into thin air, but was stolen.
So, what would the person who stole the Demon Suppression Stone do with the Black Flood Dragon’s remnant soul?
Chu Xiyao knew all too well about such matters.
“What exactly do you want?”
She asked Chen Yan.
Finally able to get to the main point.
Chen Yan thought this to himself, then shrugged and said:
“My master told me that you people from Qingchan Peak can do whatever you want, but he won’t help with anything.”
“Is that so?”
Chu Xiyao wasn’t surprised, because she already knew that Elder Lin and Elder Fu didn’t get along well.
And regarding the Song Mingde matter, Qingchan Peak was indeed in the wrong.
“But what exactly to do still depends on me.”
Chen Yan continued:
“Although it’s entirely thanks to my esteemed master, over these past two-plus months, I’ve accumulated some connections in the outer court. Perhaps I can help you with something.”
“So, what are your conditions?”
Chu Xiyao was also an intelligent person.
“Answer my questions.”
Chen Yan smiled slightly.
Chu Xiyao’s autumn-pond-like eyes looked at Chen Yan before her, unknown what was going through her mind at that moment.
“What exactly was the intelligence that Steward Song had?”
The white-clad maiden hesitated for a moment before deciding to tentatively trust Chen Yan.
“Two years ago, Elder Fu promised to help Song Mingde break through to the Qi Sea Realm, and would later reserve a steward position for him in Qingchan Peak’s Merit Hall.”
Chu Xiyao said:
“He was to use his position’s convenience to monitor the letters passing through the Merit Hall.”
Qi Sea Realm.
For a steward who had spent his entire life stagnating in the outer court and, continuing like this, might never make greater progress in his lifetime, just how tempting this promise was could be easily imagined.
Not to mention that Fu Qian had also reserved a steward position for him on Qingchan Peak.
One must know that the status of an inner sect steward isn’t even one-tenth comparable to that of an outer court steward.
In other words, if it were Chen Yan in that cycle where he lived to a hundred years old, when his lifespan was nearing its end, forget a personal promise from Qingchan Peak’s Martial Elder – even if some random outer court instructor or messenger told Chen Yan that as long as he did what they said, they would help him break through to the Martial Spring Realm.
Then Chen Yan would naturally also go through fire and water without hesitation, considering it his duty without question.
When the great limit approaches, the desire for survival is human instinct, even immortal cultivators are no exception.
Otherwise, Chen Yan wouldn’t have gone alone to the Fallen Sword Mountain Range in his final few months, just to search for that elusive sword immortal inheritance.
And in the end, it was nothing but drawing water with a bamboo basket – all in vain.