Chapter 1376: The Holy Rakshasa Appears

Once everyone around him was gone, Luo Qiu opened the letter again and read through its contents once more. His face gradually darkened.

Then he turned the letter over and examined the map.

This time, he understood it.

One marked location was the place where Luo Fangfei was being told to go for the meeting.

Yin Ji's letter said, in essence, that she missed her daughter and wanted to see her. She hoped Luo Qiu would show some leniency and allow mother and daughter to meet once. Yin Ji would wait for Luo Fangfei at the marked location at the appointed date and time.

Swish!

The letter vanished into fragments in Luo Qiu's hand.

His breathing grew slightly heavier.

Before this, he had only suspected Yin Ji might still be alive. He had never been completely certain.

Now, after seeing Yin Ji's handwriting and hearing Qin Du's eyewitness account, there was no longer any doubt.

Yin Ji was indeed alive.

Back then, Luo Qiu had only forced her to dig out her vertical eye. He had believed she would die from it, so he had not continued with more ruthless measures.

He had never imagined that one moment of softhearted mercy would leave behind such future trouble.

Unless there was absolutely no alternative, he could not allow Luo Fangfei to learn that her own mother belonged to the Fox Clan. Who knew what kind of trouble that revelation might cause?

Still less could he allow the other Eight Saints to learn the truth.

Leaving aside the ridicule and other complications, those eight would inevitably force him to exterminate the Fox Clan. And the Fox Clan was hardly something one could simply wipe out at will.

Once Luo Qiu gave the others such leverage over him, they would use it again and again.

The consequences would be endless.

"Yin Ji, Yin Ji... why did you have to show yourself again?" Luo Qiu muttered, his face shadowed with gloom.

...

After leaving the Sacred Hall, Qin Du did not take his two attendants away.

He left them where they were and descended the mountain alone.

His heart was filled with melancholy and reluctance.

He could imagine perfectly well what fate awaited those two men.

Originally he had wanted to protect them.

But after seeing Luo Qiu's attitude, after realizing the Sacred Venerable intended to keep the matter absolutely secret, Qin Du knew the two men would not survive.

The fact that Luo Qiu was willing to spare Qin Du himself already counted as exceptional favor.

There was no room for him to plead for anyone else.

As expected, the two attendants were executed soon afterward.

Neither even understood why he was dying.

Their only offense had been seeing someone they should never have seen.

...

At Tiandu Peak, inside Misty Pavilion, a deacon hurried into the hall and presented a report. "Presiding Administrator, a message from Myriad Beasts Sect!"

Yue Guangming had gone to the Sacred Realm, so this deacon was temporarily handling his duties.

Huo Kong sat behind the desk, already driven to distraction by the endless troubles around him. His face filled with impatience and he gave a cold laugh. "Aren't Myriad Beasts Sect's supervisors inside the Sacred Realm? Has Myriad Beasts Sect decided to join the excitement too? Speak. What did they uncover?"

The deacon hurriedly said, "Presiding Administrator, it isn't a supervisory matter. Myriad Beasts Sect discovered traces of the Holy Rakshasa inside the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm!"

"What?" Huo Kong shot to his feet, astonishment covering his face.

The deacon repeated himself, making every word clear. "Myriad Beasts Sect discovered traces of the Holy Rakshasa inside the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm!"

Huo Kong snatched the report from his hand and read it.

Afterward, he looked both amazed and exasperated. "Now this is truly strange. As though the situation isn't chaotic enough already, even the Holy Rakshasa, which has never shown itself, chooses this moment to come out and join the commotion. I've truly seen a ghost. Surely no one has actually managed to collude with the Holy Rakshasa?"

Holding the report, he considered the matter for a while.

Truthfully, he wanted to go see what the Holy Rakshasa looked like for himself and satisfy his curiosity.

Unfortunately, he was entangled in too many affairs and could not get away.

He handed the report back. "Send the news to the Sacred Realm immediately. No mistakes!"

"Yes!" The deacon accepted the order and left.

...

Inside Tianlan Sacred Hall, Lan Daolin held a secret report, his face cold and dark.

His disciple Qing Jiu stood silently to the side. He had been the one to deliver it.

The report had come from the Xuanbing Sect supervisors in the State of Qi. Xuanbing Sect's supervisory personnel maintained direct contact with Lan Daolin, though outside the Sacred Realm. Within the Sacred Realm itself, that role belonged to Zijin Cave of Yan.

Xuanbing Sect had captured the handler above the people who tipped Zhuge Chi off, and they had also captured the hidden handler behind those who forced Hong Yunfa to his death.

The Hong Yunfa matter appeared to point back to Lan Ming again.

Xuanbing Sect did not know how to handle the situation. They did not know whether they were supposed to continue digging deeper, so they had urgently reported everything to this side.

Whether the information was true or false had not yet been proven, but the possibility that it was fabricated seemed very small.

Qing Jiu stood there silently, sighing inwardly.

He had never expected Hong Yunfa's death to have been Lan Ming's doing too.

Who knew how many other "good deeds" the Sacred Venerable's son had committed behind everyone's backs?

His master was probably furious enough to burst.

Even a biological son could no longer be trusted.

That left disciples like Qing Jiu in an extremely awkward position.

Nor could he tell who was actually causing all this trouble anymore.

Recently, the supervisory personnel from the various sects had become frighteningly effective. They kept producing results and rendering distinguished service, leaving everyone inside Misty Pavilion frightened and uneasy.

What Qing Jiu did not know was that Xuanbing Sect itself felt helpless.

Two clues from an unknown source had landed directly in their hands. They investigated them and somehow ended up tracing both to Lan Ming.

Now they could neither advance nor retreat.

All they could do was report upward.

"Unfilial wretch!" Lan Daolin suddenly said in a dark voice.

The secret report was slowly crushed into a ball in his hand.

"Others don't know about this yet, do they?"

Qing Jiu hesitated. "Xuanbing Sect should understand the gravity of the matter. Presumably they wouldn't dare speak carelessly."

Lan Daolin said slowly, "In other words, if we continue digging along these lines, there is a chance we can find that unfilial wretch?"

"Probably... yes." Qing Jiu answered weakly.

In truth, he had no idea how he was supposed to respond.

He guessed his master did not want Lan Ming to fall into anyone else's hands.

It was very possible Lan Daolin would go personally.

The reason was simple.

Misty Pavilion lately leaked like a sieve full of holes. Hiding this matter was probably impossible, especially since the clues had simply fallen into Xuanbing Sect's hands. There was no such thing as a gift that convenient without strings attached.

If the matter could not be hidden, then it had to be investigated.

And once an investigation began, there was one unavoidable problem.

Zhuge Chi might very well be together with Lan Ming.

That was not someone ordinary people could deal with.

Which meant it was entirely possible the other members of the Nine Saints would eventually intervene.

The previous time, when the other Eight Saints had acted behind Lan Daolin's back, was precedent enough.

How could Lan Daolin allow outsiders to intervene again?

Even if he had to clean his own house, he would do it personally.

If Lan Ming fell into someone else's hands, setting aside whether he might reveal things he should not, the humiliation alone would disgrace Lan Daolin.

If his son had to die, then at least he should die cleanly and decisively.

Lan Daolin's son should never be displayed before others begging for his life in fear.

"You remain here and watch the house. I'll make the trip personally and see what's happening!"

With that, Lan Daolin flashed away.

As Qing Jiu had expected, he had indeed decided to go himself.

...

"Master, they're here."

Inside Wuxu Sacred Hall, Si Shaodong led in two nervous men from Wuxu Sacred Land.

They were the same two who had narrowly escaped with their lives from Ao Feng.

"Greetings, Sacred Venerable!" The pair bowed respectfully.

Du Wuxu slowly turned and studied them. "You are certain that man was Ao Feng, disciple of Ye Nian?"

One man answered, "Sacred Venerable, there can be no mistake. We both know him. We saw him clearly."

The other nodded repeatedly.

Du Wuxu asked, "You believe Ao Feng may have broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm?"

The first man answered nervously, "There should be no mistake. His strength was far too terrifying. We scattered and fled, and he flew through the air pursuing people in every direction..."

He carefully recounted everything that had happened.

After hearing the full account, Du Wuxu paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.

Ao Feng, his grand-disciple who had disappeared after taking leave from Wuliang Garden, had actually broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm?

And Ye Nian, Ao Feng's master and a guard of Wuliang Garden, had disappeared as well.

That meant the master and disciple had very likely both been involved in stealing the twelve Wuliang Fruits from Wuliang Garden.

No wonder both men had vanished.

Fury rose inside Du Wuxu.

He felt profoundly deceived.

One may guard against thieves for a thousand days and still fail to guard against the thief within one's own house.

He had never imagined the theft of the Wuliang Fruits might actually be connected to his own disciple.

Beyond his rage, however, Du Wuxu also developed a headache.

He himself had been the one who stirred up the upheaval at Boundless Pavilion over Zhuge Chi.

If the matter involving Ye Nian and Ao Feng later became public, he would inevitably be accused of being the thief crying "thief," of framing others and diverting attention to cover his own suspicions.

Others might not say it openly, but Lan Daolin certainly would.

Lan Daolin had suffered a loss in the earlier affair and had simply lacked grounds to retaliate. Once this came out, Lan Daolin would unquestionably seize on it and bite down hard to avenge that grievance.

But the matter had already happened.

There was no way to pretend otherwise.

The first priority was finding the men.

Du Wuxu immediately ordered a secret search.

Then he personally left as well, rushing to the scene to inspect the traces of battle.

Some things still had to be verified with his own eyes.

He could not simply believe whatever other people told him.

Du Wuxu himself was a Nascent Soul expert. From the traces left by the fighting, he could determine whether a Nascent Soul cultivator truly had acted there.

Besides, by all logic, after Ao Feng's location was exposed, he should no longer remain in the same place.

Even so, Du Wuxu still had to guard against Ao Feng using the trick that the most dangerous place was the safest and continuing to hide nearby.

...

"You're certain?"

Inside Wushuang Sacred Hall, amid the mist rising from the bath behind gauze curtains, Lü Wushuang turned her head and asked the question. A faint brightness appeared in her eyes.

Outside the curtains, her disciple An You'er said, "There should be no mistake. Word from Demon Ridge says Feng Guan'er left behind a letter and departed, saying she was going to find Luo Zhao. There was also some disturbance at the Demon Palace. They suspect Yuan Gang's later disappearance means he went after Feng Guan'er."

Lü Wushuang considered it for a moment, then suddenly sneered. "For a woman like that, for another man's wife, he actually throws his life away without a care. What an infatuated fool!"

She said nothing more.

After quickly washing, she dressed and emerged, fresh and elegant.

As she walked away with measured steps, she left one instruction behind. "Watch the house."

Then she left Wushuang Sacred Hall, swept into the sky, and quickly vanished into the distance.

...

"The Holy Rakshasa?"

At Dayuan Sacred Land, songs drifted sweetly through the air and dancers moved gracefully.

Yuan Se lounged in a reclining chair, juice from a piece of fruit running around his mouth as he held the report and clicked his tongue in surprise. "It actually appeared. Rumor says this Holy Rakshasa lives in Shang Song's Traveling Palace. Find the Holy Rakshasa, and you can find Shang Song's Traveling Palace."

Consort Yuan, standing nearby, asked curiously, "What's inside Shang Song's Traveling Palace?"

Yuan Se chuckled. "Precisely because no one knows what's inside, people want to find it and have a look. The greatest man beneath Heaven in his age, someone capable of shattering the void... think about what kind of cultivation realm that must have been. A truly immortal-like figure. Whatever remains in his ruins is worth anticipating. Among the traces of Shang Song's ruins still left to pursue, this is the only place remaining."

Consort Yuan nodded. "Put that way, it truly is worth looking forward to."

Yuan Se's enormous body hauled itself upright. "Misty Pavilion reported the matter, so those fellows should have received the same news. Watch the house. I'll go take a look. If there really is some treasure, I can't let those bastards get there before me!"

"All right. Don't worry." Consort Yuan nodded with a charming smile.

Whoosh!

Yuan Se's fat figure turned into a blur and shot over the heads of the dancers. The surrounding curtains billowed and swayed in his wake.

Once Yuan Se was gone, Consort Yuan turned to look at the group of scantily clad women.

Displeasure flashed through her eyes.

"What are you still wriggling around for? Disgusting. Get out!"

The music stopped at once.

The women hurriedly withdrew.

[End of Chapter 1376]