Chapter 400: I Must Go Alone

With Xie Ningyuan and Gu Jue watching over her, Lu Sangjiu felt safe enough to take a Healing Pill. Then, she calmed her mind and began to focus on healing.

The healing process was long. Lu Sangjiu herself didn’t know how much time had passed. In any case, by the time she opened her eyes, her master, senior brothers, and all the others had gathered before her.

"Little Junior Sister, are you all healed?"

Luo Linlang squeezed her way to the front and asked with concern.

Lu Sangjiu smiled and nodded. "Don’t worry, I’m fine now."

"What about you all? Is everyone okay?"

Luo Linlang shook her head. "We were just tied up by some disciples from the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect. We couldn’t very well kill them, which made things a bit troublesome. Otherwise, we might have been able to get back to help you sooner."

"That’s alright. The important thing is that you’re all safe."

Lu Sangjiu then looked to Xie Ningyuan. "Oh, right, I haven’t had a chance to ask. What happened with Ting Chan?"

Xie Ningyuan shook his head with regret. "At the last moment, a mysterious person suddenly appeared and rescued him."

"It was because I was fighting that person that I couldn’t get to you right away."

"They found a chance to escape later. I was worried about you, so I didn’t give chase. Your master stayed behind to try and track them, but he lost their trail in the end."

Lu Sangjiu frowned. "Another at the Body Integration Realm... It seems the force your ancestor has secretly organized is not to be underestimated."

From what they knew, that was three at the Body Integration Realm and one at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage. That’s practically on par with one of the Four Great Sects.

Xie Ningyuan gave a self-deprecating smile. "Please stop saying ’your ancestor.’ I can’t claim an ancestor like him... His Dharma name is He Guang."

Lu Sangjiu was suddenly enlightened. "This is actually the first I’m hearing of his name..."

During the great war several hundred years ago, He Guang had already been in his current state, so he’d remained completely hidden. Lu Sangjiu had never had any dealings with him.

’The name is quite pleasant,’ she thought. ’Too bad he’s a depraved egoist.’

’Don’t they say Buddhist Practitioners need to have universal love to cultivate? How could someone like him possibly cultivate all the way to the Transcendance Tribulation Stage?’

’But on second thought, didn’t Xie Ningyuan also find an unconventional path after suffering that backlash? Perhaps the Buddhist Path is myriad, and what they previously understood was merely one path among ten thousand.’

"Little Jiu, the Cultivation World’s summit is scheduled for tomorrow. As for the Western Demon Realm..."

Duan Xingyun looked at Lu Sangjiu with a worried expression and said, "You’ve just finished healing, and I know I shouldn’t be bringing this up now, but I think that if we can resolve things with the Western Demon Realm beforehand, it might help with the summit here."

Lu Sangjiu knew her master was right. If the Western Demon Realm were to yield first, then the Cultivation World could also concede without losing face. It would also give them something to tell their disciples.

Without that concern, many more would likely agree to a truce.

With this in mind, she nodded and said, "I understand, Master. As for the Western Demon Realm... I’ll go speak with Cangming."

Duan Xingyun and the others were not surprised to hear her say this.

They knew that Lu Sangjiu was Gu Huang, and that Cangming, like Fa Shan, had once been her subordinate.

They didn’t know that Cangming had been responsible for her death. They just subconsciously assumed that since Fa Shan was still completely loyal to Lu Sangjiu, then Cangming—even if he wouldn’t obey her completely—would at least be willing to sit down for a calm discussion, given their past relationship.

Only Xie Ningyuan frowned... Although Lu Sangjiu hadn’t told him what had happened with Cangming, he still remembered the Qilin Sect using a weapon against him that had been enhanced with Cangming’s unique secret technique: the Blood Evil Curse.

Furthermore, the people of the Qilin Sect seemed to know something about Gu Huang’s death.

Combined with the recent discovery that Cangming also had close ties to He Guang’s faction, all these details made Cangming seem extremely suspicious.

But seeing Lu Sangjiu’s silence, Xie Ningyuan guessed she didn’t want to make the others worry. He didn’t bring up his suspicions, and simply said, "Then I’ll go with you."

Lu Sangjiu fell silent for a moment, then shook her head and looked at him solemnly. "This time, I must go alone."

As soon as she said this, Duan Xingyun and the others, who hadn’t been overly concerned before, grew uneasy. "Why? Is this trip dangerous?"

Gu Jue, unaware of the crucial details, frowned and said, "Going to the Western Demon Realm alone is too dangerous. We should all go together so we can watch each other’s backs."

Lu Sangjiu shook her head again. "Cangming has already reached the Transcendance Tribulation Stage. If he wanted to kill me, it would be pointless for all of us to go."

"Besides... I have a personal score to settle with him. It wouldn’t be appropriate for anyone else to be present."

’Especially not Xie Ningyuan.’

’It was a known fact: Cangming had been in love with her. Then, that love had twisted into hate, and he had killed her.’

’A person like that has a warped and radical mind. He was capable of killing her back then. If he saw Xie Ningyuan by her side now, there’s no guarantee he wouldn’t kill him just to vent his rage.’

’In the past, she had been too powerful, and the only way he could imagine keeping her was to kill her.’

’But now it was different. She was so weak. She probably wouldn’t even inspire the desire to kill in him.’

’At worst, he would just detain her.’

’And as long as she wasn’t dead, there was always a chance for a turnaround. First, she had to overcome the immediate crisis.’

Despite Lu Sangjiu’s explanation, the others were clearly not comfortable with her going alone.

Luo Linlang grabbed her arm, as if afraid she would just run off without listening. "No! You can’t take this risk!"

"It’s true that resolving things with the Western Demon Realm before the Cultivation World’s summit would be helpful, but that doesn’t mean we’re doomed to fail here if you don’t go!"

"It would be much better to wait until we’ve reached an agreement here, then ask the ancestors from the other two major sects to go with you! That way, even if the talks fail, at least you’ll be safe!"

The others all nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Little Junior Sister, we know you’re eager to see this through, but safety must come first."

Lu Sangjiu was silent for a moment before shaking her head again. "You don’t understand Cangming."

’Once he snaps, he won’t stop until one of them is dead.’

’Besides, he isn’t a fool. He must know what He Guang is after by cooperating with him.’

’Trying to reason with him won’t work. Her trump card... was her identity.’

’She wasn’t entirely confident that revealing her identity would create a breakthrough, but it was better than having no leverage at all.’

’That’s why she had to go alone this time.’

She looked earnestly at each of them. "I admit this trip won’t be without risk, but there is a very high probability that he won’t kill me."

"If he detains me and still doesn’t agree to a truce, then just wait until after the summit here concludes."

"Trust me. I won’t gamble with my own life."

After a pause, she turned her head to look at Xie Ningyuan and gave a small smile. "I promised I would walk this path with you to the end, and I won’t break my word... You’ll support my decision, right?"