Chapter 1298: The Nine Saints Gather

So it was true.

Zhao Xiongge stared at Nantian Wufang and took an unsteady step backward himself.

Before this, it had only been a suspicion.

But Nantian Wufang's present reaction made the truth plain.

That was exactly what had happened.

The past returned before their eyes in vivid fragments.

How many storms?

How much helplessness?

How much blood and how many tears?

Zhao Xiongge also sank weakly to the ground.

The two men had charged at one another like red-eyed bulls.

After the violent collision, each had wounded the other and himself.

Both had been knocked down.

A miserable smile appeared on Zhao Xiongge's face.

"You said I was the one who got the Saintess killed."

"Say it again now."

"Who exactly killed her?"

Grief twisted Nantian Wufang's face.

"So you knew long ago."

"I thought Heaven knew, Earth knew, and I alone knew."

"I thought no one else would ever learn this secret."

Zhao Xiongge looked utterly spent.

"I didn't know before."

"If Niu Youdao hadn't taken Guan Fangyi away and caused you to make certain moves..."

"I knew how you had gone about searching for a Saintess. The Saintess told me."

"And you were never the sort of person who would make such a reckless, hurried decision."

"Once I matched that against the approximate timing and what happened inside the Demonic Sect back then, I began to suspect."

Nantian Wufang said, "You're ruthless."

"You had suspicions all this time and actually managed to keep yourself from asking."

"Because of the Saintess's dying entrustment," Zhao Xiongge replied.

"Because I had a more important secret to guard."

"Exposing you would have benefited neither the Demonic Sect nor what I was protecting."

"But no matter how ruthless I am, I'm not as ruthless as you."

"To hide the truth, you actually watched her fall into the pleasure quarters without reaching out to pull her back."

Nantian Wufang began to cry.

A miserable smile remained on his face as tears streamed down.

"I had no choice."

"I didn't dare!"

His tears fell as he lowered his head.

"When I found her, she was washing clothes beside a stream in a mountain village."

"The moment she lifted her head..."

"You have no idea how beautiful she was then."

"Later, I couldn't restrain myself."

"I defiled her."

"At the time, I regretted it, and yet I didn't regret it."

"I regretted it because she met the requirements to become Saintess."

"The Saintess!"

"How could the Saintess be defiled?"

"How could I possibly bring her back to the Demonic Sect afterward and let her inherit the position?"

"If I had brought her back, I would have had to face her constantly from then on."

"The way she looked at me could never have been hidden from everyone else."

"And Wu Chang was already watching like a tiger."

"Once the truth came out, whether I myself could escape blame would have been the least of it."

"I would have harmed her too."

"But I didn't regret it because I saved her."

"I personally saw what torment the later Saintess endured."

"The more I saw, the less I regretted what I had done."

"With Wu Chang watching, I truly didn't dare reach out to help her."

"If Wu Chang discovered she was someone I cared about, then even if I could conceal the fact that she had been selected as a Saintess candidate, you should know perfectly well what kind of end awaited her once she fell into his hands."

"Letting her sink into the pleasure quarters and refusing to intervene showed that I didn't care about her."

"Perhaps that was the best protection I could give her."

"Her original name was Guan Honghua."

"I thought it sounded ugly."

"Thinking of my own name, I changed hers to Guan Fangyi."

"I never expected her to keep using that name all these years."

"Maybe I should never have given her that name."

"She became Guan Fangyi."

"I am Nantian Wufang."

"Perhaps the moment I gave her that name, it was already destined that I would lose her."

"Was that fate?"

"I never used my true name with her."

"She doesn't know my real name."

Zhao Xiongge gave a contemptuous snort.

"I have no interest in your sordid private affair."

"But do you have any idea how many people you harmed by doing this?"

"That woman should never have become Saintess."

"If she hadn't become Saintess, she wouldn't have been killed."

"If she hadn't been Saintess, I would never have met her."

"If I hadn't met her, I would never have become entangled in all this."

"If I hadn't become entangled, Shangqing Sect would never have been driven into its present state by Wu Chang."

"The people of Prince Ning's faction would never have suffered annihilation."

"Because of one selfish decision of yours, how many people's fates were changed?"

"How many people died?"

Nantian Wufang looked up at him.

"You want to kill me for revenge?"

He climbed to his feet.

"Or are you trying to use this secret to force me into agreeing that Yuan Gang should become Holy Son?"

"Zhao Xiongge, it's useless."

"I was already wrong once."

"I cannot be wrong again."

"I will not agree!"

Zhao Xiongge lowered his head and sat in silence for a while.

At last, he took a deep breath and climbed to his feet as well.

"Right now, I truly do wish I could kill you."

"But what qualification do I have to kill you?"

"If I had never fallen in love with her, Shangqing Sect and all those other people would not have suffered such disasters either."

"But I met her."

"And I do not regret it!"

"I'll atone for the mistakes I made myself."

"Nantian Wufang, this is not the time to argue over who was right or wrong back then."

"I only want you to understand one thing."

"Do you really think that merely because Maolu Villa has ties to Shangqing Sect, and Yuan Gang has ties to Maolu Villa, I would take out something I've guarded for so many years just to save him?"

That finally calmed Nantian Wufang somewhat.

Suspicion entered his face.

"In other words, the legendary Demon Canon truly exists?"

Zhao Xiongge nodded.

"Yes."

"But it is not in Wu Chang's hands."

"It was handed long ago to the person awaited by generations of Saintesses."

Inwardly, he added:

It has already been handed to Niu Youdao.

But Niu Youdao, the chosen person, does not want Yuan Gang to die.

Nantian Wufang naturally assumed Zhao Xiongge meant Yuan Gang.

Even so, he did not believe it.

"How could Yuan Gang possibly be the person you claim the Saintesses waited for through the generations?"

"The secrets guarded by generations of Saintesses naturally included a method for identifying and finding that person."

Zhao Xiongge's voice was certain.

"There can be no mistake."

"The problem now is that Yuan Gang has fallen into the hands of the Nine Saints."

"At present, Wu Chang is the only person who may be able to save him."

Nantian Wufang asked, "Save Yuan Gang, and then hand the Demon Canon to Wu Chang?"

"If the Demon Canon exists, then you should understand that the legends are true."

Zhao Xiongge said, "Do not underestimate Li Ge's wisdom."

"She made her own arrangements for everything."

"What exactly is recorded in the Demon Canon?"

"Those who should not know have no need to know."

"Don't ask."

"What the Demonic Sect needs to do now is cooperate with Wu Chang and save him!"

Nantian Wufang swept one hand sharply through the air.

"I don't care about Li Ge."

"I don't care about the Demon Canon either."

"I know only that once the Demon Canon falls into Wu Chang's hands, the Demonic Sect could be doomed beyond redemption at any moment."

"You guarded the Demon Canon."

"What I guard is the entire Demonic Sect."

"Do you understand that?"

"It's useless roaring at me," Zhao Xiongge replied.

"Can you resist him?"

"Now that Wu Chang already knows where the Demon Canon is, refusing to cooperate is what will truly doom the Demonic Sect beyond redemption!"

Nantian Wufang's jaw tightened.

Zhao Xiongge walked past him and looked into the distance.

"Don't worry."

"The Demon Canon itself is the shackle."

"Only after obtaining the Demon Canon will Wu Chang truly bind himself in his own cocoon and no longer dare act recklessly."

"He knows that too."

"But he cannot resist the Demon Canon's temptation."

"At least until his ambitions and desires have been fulfilled, he won't dare act carelessly."

Those were Niu Youdao's exact words to him.

...

Deep inside the Demon Palace at Tianmo Sacred Land, Yuan Gang remained bound in iron chains inside a cavern.

His entire body hung in the darkness like a dead dog.

Now that they understood some of his capabilities, they had not removed the steel needles embedded in his body.

In the main hall of the Demon Palace, however, honored guests had gathered.

All Nine Saints were present.

There were no seats.

Wu Chang's hall had none.

So the entire group could only stand.

"Yuan Se, if you want to prove your innocence, then let everyone investigate the matter thoroughly."

"If your conscience is clear, hand Ding Wei over."

"That's right, Fatty Yuan."

"Our patience is limited."

After being pressed again and again by the others, Yuan Se's enormous body finally shifted with impatience.

He spread both hands.

"If everyone insists on putting it that way, I have no objection."

"But that bastard Ding Wei disappeared long ago."

"I've been looking for him myself because I want to ask what exactly happened."

"How about this?"

"Everyone can help me look."

"If you find him, let me know."

"Once he's found, interrogate him however you please."

"I've made my position clear enough."

"Are you satisfied now?"

At those words, the corner of Lü Wushuang's mouth curved in a faint smile.

Once Yuan Se said that, she could relax.

The others either darkened slightly or remained expressionless.

Most of them had already concluded that Yuan Se's disciple Ding Wei would probably never be found anywhere in this world.

Yuan Se himself understood that the man's disappearance would only deepen everyone's suspicions.

But he had no choice.

If real evidence were uncovered, being driven out of Wuliang Garden might be the least of his problems.

If someone seized the opportunity to make trouble, the others might even join forces to eliminate him.

For now, he could only survive one hurdle at a time.

To everyone beneath Heaven, the Nine Saints appeared lofty and supreme.

Their situation among themselves, however, was nowhere near as comfortable as outsiders imagined.

Trying to shift everyone's attention elsewhere, Yuan Se pointed at Wu Chang.

"Wu Chang, everyone came here today to demand that you hand over the man."

"You've already broken the rules."

"If you don't give everyone an explanation today, I doubt you'll get through this peacefully."

Wu Chang's cold gaze settled on him.

"Fatty Yuan, are you tired of living?"

"What?" Yuan Se said.

"You plan to fight all eight of us by yourself?"

"Come on, then."

"Give it a try!"

Wu Chang did not accept the provocation.

"I naturally had a reason for taking him away."

"I've already given you that reason."

"You've all heard the rumors."

"Someone has malicious intentions toward the prisoner."

"How could I feel comfortable letting people with malicious intentions continue to approach him?"

"Save that nonsense," Yuan Se said.

"You were the one who notified everyone and proposed bringing him in."

"Then you were the one suddenly scrambling to seize him."

"If you don't explain what's happening here, I doubt you can avoid answering to everyone."

Wu Chang turned his gaze toward Lü Wushuang.

"The person who scrambled to seize him first was Lü Wushuang, wasn't it?"

"She fixed her eyes on him in the desert, then rushed to Wentian City at the first opportunity and took him away."

"Lü Wushuang, don't you plan to explain yourself to everyone?"

Lü Wushuang's face immediately hardened.

"Stop making slanderous accusations!"

"That Yuan Gang dared behave insolently toward me."

"What was wrong with taking him away immediately and teaching him a lesson?"

"Wu Chang, if you ask me, you were the one who released those malicious rumors."

"You did it to cover up your own seizure of the man!"

"When you speak, bring evidence," Wu Chang replied.

"There's no hurry."

Granny Xue suddenly spoke with a cheerful chuckle.

"Since everyone is gathered here today, we'll settle matters one by one."

Leaning on her staff, she walked over and stopped in front of Lü Wushuang.

"Lü Wushuang, spare us all the talk about teaching him a lesson."

"There's no need to wave that excuse in front of us."

"Right now, everyone wants to know only one thing."

"Why did you want the Scorpion Emperor?"

Every gaze in the hall immediately turned toward Lü Wushuang.

Those who had been watching coldly from the side all wanted to hear the answer.

Lü Wushuang looked around at everyone's reaction.

She knew that refusing to explain would no longer work.

With a cold snort, she said, "I wanted the Scorpion Emperor's inner core."

Granny Xue looked puzzled.

"What for?"

"I naturally have a use for it."

"My private affairs are none of everyone's concern, are they?"

Lü Wushuang said, "I admit I took Yuan Gang because of the Scorpion Emperor."

"If any of you object, then I simply won't take it."

The others exchanged glances.

No one had yet decided how the matter should be handled.

Luo Qiu, standing with both hands folded over his abdomen, finally spoke.

"Wu Chang, what about you?"

"Why did you seize the man?"

"That story about being afraid someone had malicious intentions toward him doesn't seem sufficient, does it?"

[End of Chapter 1298]