Chapter 505: The Celestial Pavilion's Leader Isn't a Traitor, Is He?

“So, you two don’t know what your leader plans to do with the Five Elements Spiritual Treasures he’s collecting?”

‘We were only told they were useful, and then we were assigned to track them down.’ Qi Suian stroked his chin. The Ghost King and Yaksha were on the brink of death and didn’t answer.

The two had never seen the true form of the Celestial Pavilion’s leader, Celestial Dao. Even when he granted them an audience, he would either communicate through the Celestial Pavilion’s Heavenly Shadow or use a Clone Puppet to receive them.

Therefore, no one inside or outside the entire Celestial Pavilion had ever seen him.

He was the very definition of mysterious.

The Celestial Pavilion was a biotechnological creation of the Tree-Born Demons, and it was the reason they could travel freely between the five planets.

However, they rarely came to Red Meteor. The planet was simply too small and chaotic, so it wasn’t part of the Celestial Pavilion’s development zones.

Their main development zone was on White Meteor, the largest of the five habitable planets and the one with the most abundant resources.

But it was also the most chaotic planet. The sects there were in a constant state of war with one another, unlike Red Meteor, which had already entered a period of peace.

“Yes. We only want the Pure Yang Fire Seed. If you hand it over, we won’t set foot on Red Meteor again until the Heaven-Mending Plan begins.”

“The plan won’t succeed so easily. It will take at least a hundred years and will be launched after you are dead,” the Ghost King said, enduring his discomfort.

This was the truth. They were not the first generation of Celestial Pavilion members, nor would they be the last. The plan was always intended to take a very long time.

The words “a hundred years” made Qi Suian’s brow twitch. He couldn’t wait that long.

He had lived a fast-paced life of rapid growth from the very beginning. For him, even thinking in terms of months felt like an eternity, let alone years.

“Tell me how to get to the Celestial Pavilion.” Qi Suian ignored the Ghost King’s words.

Qi Suian only needed the coordinates. Once he had them, the rest would be easy.

In truth, he could decrypt it himself. When these two arrived, they left behind data. With a bit of time for calculation, Qi Suian could find the location.

But wouldn’t it be better to just make them spit it out?

Or even better, to simply have them lead the way.

Running the calculations would consume his time and energy, especially now when he was focused on organizing and adapting to his own power while also researching transit protection technologies.

‘It’s clearly not worth diverting my attention for something like this.’

The cost of interrogation was, naturally, much lower.

“Hah, in your dreams!” the Ghost King refused without hesitation.

Qi Suian’s torture hadn’t broken him; he was still unwilling to reveal the Celestial Pavilion’s plans.

“Alright. It seems you really are a tough nut to crack.” Qi Suian sighed. In the next instant, a dense mass of fibrous matter engulfed the Ghost King completely, leaving not a single trace behind.

“Pah. Not even a decent scrap.”

Qi Suian cursed, then turned his gaze to the silent Yaksha. “From the very beginning, you’ve had different ideas than him, haven’t you?”

He had long since detected the fear and will to survive emanating from the Yaksha’s emotions.

It was the impulse to live, but he had remained silent because the Ghost King was still alive.

“That’s right. I want to live,” the Yaksha said.

Everyone was indeed working toward the same goal, but people are different.

The Yaksha wasn’t as steadfast as the Ghost King.

“You shouldn’t have killed the Ghost King. This will let Celestial Dao know he is dead.”

“A Spirit Shadow of every member is kept in the Celestial Pavilion. But luckily, there’s a time delay. You still have a chance,” the Yaksha explained.

Qi Suian didn’t care about that at all. Instead, he asked, “Can you get me into the Celestial Pavilion?”

“No. To use the Celestial Pavilion to travel to the stars requires Celestial Dao’s help. We are only members of the Celestial Pavilion; the true master is Celestial Dao,” the Yaksha denied.

“Then how would you have returned if you had gotten the Pure Yang Fire Seed?” Qi Suian asked again.

“On the seventh day after our arrival, Celestial Dao will convene a Spirit Shadow meeting. Our souls will be enveloped by our Spirit Shadows for remote communication, at which point we report our progress.”

“If we had succeeded in obtaining the Pure Yang Fire Seed, Celestial Dao would use the Celestial Pavilion to bring us back,” the Yaksha revealed without hiding anything.

“Then there are six days left. I assume you won’t mind cooperating fully.” Qi Suian’s idea was simple: when the Yaksha was having his meeting via that Spirit Shadow thing, he would trace the connection right back to their headquarters.

‘What? Have the Yaksha lie and say he completed the mission, then bring me along?’

‘That’s completely unrealistic.’ He had found traces of something like a brand or an anchor point on the Yaksha’s body. He had no idea when the man might be retrieved, so it was better to take matters into his own hands.

‘Besides, trusting him is worse than trusting myself.’

‘Who knows what little tricks he might pull to save his own skin.’

Finding it himself would be far more reliable.

Of course, this line of thinking could also make one susceptible to being led into a trap, but Qi Suian was rather confident in himself.

“I am willing to be of service.” The Yaksha also breathed a sigh of relief internally. At least he had six more days. As for how to extend his life beyond that, he would just have to play it by ear.

His actions would indeed affect the Celestial Pavilion’s Heaven-Mending Plan, but to him, his own survival was what mattered most.

The Ghost King could die a martyr for his ideals, but he was different. He wanted to live to see those ideals fulfilled. Their philosophies were not the same.

“Don’t mention it. We’re all just looking out for ourselves, aren’t we?” Qi Suian said perfunctorily, then asked, “You rarely come to Red Meteor, but you must go to the White, Green, Black, and Yellow stars quite often.”

“Tell me about the situation on those four planets.”

The Yaksha wasn’t surprised by the question and directly began explaining the situation to Qi Suian.

From the Yaksha’s description, Qi Suian got a general understanding. Compared to Red Meteor, which had already entered a stable phase, the other four planets were in constant turmoil because the Celestial Pavilion was always fanning the flames to collect resources.

Consequently, battles of all sizes never ceased, giving one the distinct impression of the Sacred Artifact World.

As for Red Meteor, the current proliferation of sects was also a result of the Celestial Pavilion’s interference. It was only after they withdrew that a balance was achieved.

‘A unified world was out of the question. It didn’t align with the Celestial Pavilion’s interests.’

So, it could be said that all the stars were ravaged by war.

“Can I ask something? With all this vicious fighting, is the population even sustainable?” Qi Suian asked, speechless.

‘The person who thought up a method like collecting resources by provoking wars is a real piece of work.’

“That… I’m not very clear on that. I’m not responsible for that area,” the Yaksha said. He was telling the truth.

Qi Suian, however, stroked his chin, wondering if the Celestial Pavilion’s leader, Celestial Dao, could be a survivor of the so-called Tree-Born Demons.

He could use the biotechnological creations of the Tree-Born Demons, constantly instigated civil wars among humans, and even the so-called Heaven-Mending Plan was being carried out through warfare.

No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like he was weakening humanity under the guise of a righteous cause.

More importantly, the Celestial Pavilion had existed for too long. How could they guarantee that successive leaders would continue to execute the plan?

Spirit Masters had limited lifespans. Even with no disasters or illnesses, and a hardy constitution, they were on par with ordinary people.

If a Spirit Master was the leader, a change in leadership was inevitable, and a new leader meant new ideas.

The Tree-Born Demons, on the other hand, were a species capable of cosmic colonization; their lifespan problem must have already been solved.

If one of them were the leader, the Celestial Pavilion’s goal wouldn’t change with a new generation, because from start to finish, it would have always been just one person.

“Do you think it’s possible that your leader, Celestial Dao, is a Tree-Born Demon?” Qi Suian posed the question.

The Yaksha was stunned by Qi Suian’s question. He couldn’t understand the logic that would lead Qi Suian to ask such a thing.

“Impossible. The Tree-Born Demons were wiped out long ago in the Outer War,” the Yaksha answered without hesitation.

Hearing this, Qi Suian nodded along. “Makes sense.”

The man had answered quickly and clearly believed what he said.

Whether it was true or not, there was no need for Qi Suian to argue with the Yaksha. There was no value in winning the debate.

“Why did you suddenly ask that?” After answering, the Yaksha still wanted to know the reason.

“Just a little speculation.”

“Alright, I imagine you’re tired. Why don’t you get some sleep,” Qi Suian said, not intending to chat with the Yaksha any longer.

Qi Suian had already dug out everything the man knew. Now, all he had to do was wait six days and follow the trail.

So he gave him an injection, causing the Yaksha to fall unconscious immediately, and had him properly handled.

—————–

The Violet-Gold Pagoda lay in ruins. Mu Can caressed his Life-taking Saber, a look of satisfaction on his face.

At this moment, the Life-taking Saber was no longer the great python it once was. It had now transformed into a flood dragon, and the large bump on its head had become a short, straight horn.

This was the fruit of his labor after slaughtering the entire Violet-Gold Pagoda, one of the Nine Great Sects.

‘The rewards for killing people from a major sect are truly great.’

‘If I had gone after a minor sect, who knows how many more people I would have had to kill for the Life-taking Saber to transform from a python into a flood dragon.’

As disciples and Elders of the Violet-Gold Pagoda, one of the Nine Great Sects, their “quality” was naturally higher.

Although killing ordinary people also worked, commoners had no Spiritual Power, so the effect of their blood and slaughter was naturally inferior.

He might pay lip service to equality, but for the fastest advancement, killing Spirit Masters and other Seven Kills Disciples was the quickest way.

‘So, for the next target… why not choose the Yanghuang Sect, the number one sect in the world.’

‘After slaughtering the Yanghuang Sect, my Life-taking Saber should achieve its Dragon Transformation.’

‘By then, I will be invincible!’ Mu Can was thrilled by the thought.

As for how to get to the Yanghuang Sect, he would naturally kill his way there. He couldn’t just give up on all the slaughter along the way, could he?

The *Blood Sea Slaughter Sutra* emphasized one thing above all: fairness. Spirit Masters were beneficial, but ordinary people had their value too.

If everyone was dead, that would naturally be the most fair of all.

Was this an act of madness? That was not something for Mu Can and the other Seven Kills Disciples to consider.

They were only responsible for delivering the fairness of death, not for debating whether their actions were reasonable or legal.

By now, every last one of the Seven Kills Disciples was a madman. Not a single one was sane.

The slaughter had long since twisted their original wills and selves.