The Scum Is A ***

"Huh?" they said, confusion all over their face. 

"Heilong is the Wuran Kingdom." The beggar said. "Heilong and the Wuran Kingdom are one. The Wuran Kingdom didn't fall. Instead, it transformed in one realm." He told them. 

Their eyes widened in shock. 

"Over these years, the Wuran Kingdom became the Heilong Realm." The beggar said, as if with a sigh in his voice. "In these five hundred years, the Wuran Kingdom slowly began to expand with the help of the demonic qi transforming everything that it touched in its wake." He explained. "Now, the Wuran Kingdom is called 'Heilong' – a black dragon that will devour everything in its wake." He said. 

Silence fell, and only the sound of the chatter in the background, as well as the cooking of the different food products and the thumping of the footsteps that can be heard in the background. 

Cheng Sheng, Fei Yin and Wu Yuan didn't speak while the beggar also didn't speak, as if waiting for them to make another question. Fei Yin, his hand held by Cheng Sheng's hand inside their sleeve, felt Cheng Sheng's grip of his hand tightened. Although he felt pain, but his concern over the stress and internal alarm Cheng Sheng is feeling overpowered the pain in his hand. 

He held back Cheng Sheng's hand and squeezed it, giving him support and reassurance. After he did so, he felt Cheng Sheng's tense muscles relaxed. "Friend." He heard Cheng Sheng call. "Where are the treasures of the Wuran Kingdom are hidden?" he asked with a smile. 

The beggar moved his head, his conical hat moving with his head. However, he didn't answer. Instead, he spoke a sentence. "One more question. Don't waste it." He told them. 

"Have you seen two righteous cultivators?" Wu Yuan asked. 

The beggar turned to his direction. "This little friend, are you sure of your question?" he asked. "This is the Heilong Realm, the den of the demonic cultivators. Your question is really funny." Though he said that, but he didn't laugh. "But, I'll answer." He slightly raised his head to Wu Yuan. "I haven't." he told him. 

Wu Yuan's breath hitched. However, he didn't complain nor breathed another word. They left the beggar and hid under the eave outside of a shop. They looked at the dim sky as a result of the dense demonic qi in this realm. 

Suddenly, Wu Yuan spoke. "He said he didn't see neither father nor uncle Jing." He said. 

"That beggar isn't the only one present in this realm." Cheng Sheng said. "There are other beggars we can ask." He told him. 

"That's right." Fei Yin nodded. "Who knows which places did that beggar reach?" he asked. "Maybe, in those places he didn't go to, former sect leader Wu and the Chen patriarch are there." he said. 

Wu Yuan didn't speak. However, the relaxation of his facial muscles can be seen. His clenched fists on the side also unclenched. Silence fell upon them once again when, suddenly, Cheng Sheng spoke. 

"Wait." He said, his gaze still as if he is recalling something. The expression on his face is also frightening. "Something's wrong." He said. 

"What is it?" Fei Yin asked. Suddenly, he felt tense and he anxiously looked at Cheng Sheng's face. 

Wu Yuan is silent, waiting for him to speak. 

"Wu Ran." Cheng Sheng said. "He was the Wuran Kingdom's king." He said, his voice slow as if he is carefully choosing his words, and also looked like he is also trying to calm himself. 

Fei Yin nodded. "That's right." He said. He looked at Cheng Sheng, his gaze urging him to continue. 

"Wuran, after it was corrupted by demonic qi, expanded into a realm for five hundred years, with the demonic qi transforming the land and everything around it." Cheng Sheng said. 

Wu Yuan nodded. "En." 

"Meanwhile, Wu Ran died, but then reincarnated into Ming Ye." Cheng Sheng continued. 

"Yes." Fei Yin nodded once again. 

"Then – " Cheng Sheng said, his voice lowered and the expression on his face became scarier when his face paled. He raised his head and looked at Fei Yin and Wu Yuan. 

Fei Yin and Wu Yuan stared at him. They held their breath as they waited for Cheng Sheng to speak. Fei Yin knows Cheng Sheng the most. Meanwhile, Wu Yuan has travelled with Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin for many months. He more or less already understood Cheng Sheng's temperament. 

And, when Cheng Sheng acts like this, a genuine panic, Wu Yuan could guess it definitely would be something very, very bad. Enough for Cheng Sheng, a scum who had always remained calm over the years, to be rattled. 

" – then – " Cheng Sheng's eyes widened and he swallowed his saliva. " – then, who had ruled over the Heilong for five hundred years Wu Ran was absent?" he asked, his voice so quiet it could be a whisper. 

Fei Yin and Wu Yuan stared at Cheng Sheng for a long while, three pairs of eyes gazing at each other, talking, when Fei Yin and Wu Yuan finally processed what Cheng Sheng said, as well as understood the implication of his words. 

Their eyes widened in shock. Fortunately, they are not the normal kind of cultivators who would panic and make noise after discovering something shocking. "What…?" they muttered under their breath. 

"Sheng." Fei Yin called, keeping his face blank as he could, as well as keeping his voice calm as he should, when he called Cheng Sheng's name. "What you meant, is…?" he said and tilted his head. He still in utter disbelief when he understood completely what Cheng Sheng's words meant. 

Meanwhile, Wu Yuan's mind became blank. "Impossible…" was the only word he could mutter as he had fallen in a daze. 

Cheng Sheng also himself doesn't want to believe it. All this while, they thought that the Wuran Kingdom was destroyed, it destroyed itself, and Wu Ran reincarnating as Ming Ye could only gather himself his forces. That there is nothing backing him up. 

However, what did they found out? The Wuran Kingdom wasn't destroyed. Instead, it became a behemoth that could swallow them whole at any time. Also, as Cheng Sheng, this intelligent scum, fortunately noticed a crucial piece of information in these five hundred years. 

For Heilong to develop prosperously like this through its five hundred years history, the Wuran Kingdom's history excluded, it definitely has someone ruling it. And this is what Cheng Sheng concerns the most. Who is this person helping Ming Ye, or Wu Ran? More especially – 

"What is this person's relationship with Wu Ran?" Fei Yin asked after he read Cheng Sheng's thoughts from Cheng Sheng's expression. 

"Senior Wu." Cheng Sheng called when he suddenly remembered something. "When we went to Youxiwang Sect with my elder brother, I looked into elder Luo's memories to know his and Ming Ye's past." He said. 

Wu Yuan looked at him. 

"I didn't notice anything strange with Ming Ye." Cheng Sheng said and looked at Wu Yuan in the eyes. "He acted normally, just like a best friend to elder Luo." He told him. 

Wu Yuan took a deep breath. "Then, how did he manage to procure such a large number of demonic cultivators?" he asked. If Ming Ye didn't make a contact with any demonic cultivators, then, who did it for him? 

The answer: the person who is ruling the Heilong for five hundred years. 

They looked at each other. "Let's leave here first and find someplace to discuss this further." 

City of Rocks, Southmost Region. 

"Ni Lai Gate…" they muttered as they rested on top of a plateau. "There are more than one Ni Lai Gate…" they said. 

"Yes." Yu Sheng spoke. "When we went to the Xiwang, we found one." He said. 

They all looked at him. 

"It is in a cave inside one of the mountains surrounding the lake where the Youxiwang Sect is located." Yu Sheng said. 

"It must be elder Ming's… Wu Ran's doing." Fei Lin sighed. 

"That must be how the demonic cultivators suddenly appeared in a fast manner in the Xiwang!" Xi Ling exclaimed.

Xie Lan nodded, agreeing to what Xi Ling has said. 

"We have to tell our people left in our sects." Jing Rui said. "Jing Kang." He called. 

"Yes." Jing Kang nodded and took out a Message Talisman. 

"Ah Ling." Fei Lin looked at Xi Ling. Xi Ling immediately took out a Message Talisman. 

"Xiao Ling." Fan Wen called to Lei Ling. 

"Yes, shifu!" Lei Ling answered and also took out a Message Talisman. 

Qian Tian watched them send the Message Talismans and smiled. Only the North, the Central and the East are left now. The West and the South have fallen. 

"Brother…" Qian Lin called. His eyes are filled with worry. 

Qian Tian turned to him and patted his head. "I'm alright." He said and slightly coughed. "Younger brother." He called. "As long as we've eradicated this world of evil, peace will return to everyone." He said. 

Qian Lin stared at his elder brother before he nodded and rested his head on his elder brother's chest to rest. "Mn." 

That night, he dreamed of his father, his mother, his elder brother and him sitting and chatting over their dinner.