Chapter 1459: An Opening

Yan Baoru, seated on the other side of the carriage shaft, watched in alarm and uncertainty. She had taken part in the Tiandu Secret Realm expedition and knew Sha Rulai. This man had once been the Presiding Administrator of Misty Pavilion. For someone of his standing to personally lead a force like this and block their road left her secretly shaken.

The carriage curtain lifted. The Ghost Doctor pushed it aside, took one look, and froze when he saw that Sha Rulai was the one who had stopped them.

Sha Rulai had visited Medicine Valley before, so the Ghost Doctor knew him as well. He immediately climbed out and stood on the carriage shaft, cupping his hands. “Mr. Sha, this old man does not believe he has committed any offense. For Mr. Sha to personally come and intercept me, may I ask what this is about?”

Inside the carriage, Wuxin and Guo Man looked out at the formation surrounding them.

Sha Rulai said indifferently, “Hei Li, you’ll know why soon enough. For now, you only need to come with me. There’s no need to ask so much. Cooperate obediently and nothing will happen to you.” He waved a hand, and before long several flying mounts swept over and began circling overhead.

The various powers of the mortal world had lost the right to use flying mounts, but that posed no difficulty for him.

The Ghost Doctor sighed inwardly. From the moment he received Lan Ming’s instructions, he had known trouble would come on this journey. He simply had not expected Sha Rulai to be the one who intercepted them.

Lan Ming’s instructions had been perfectly clear. No matter whose hands they fell into on this trip, what could be said and what could not be said had already been explained in detail.

When he removed Consort Yuan’s eye, he had wondered what the person behind the scenes truly intended. Later, he was forced to hint to Consort Yuan that her own transplanted eye was the best possible match for her, then was made to delay replacing her missing eye again and again. By then, he had already realized someone was secretly moving against Yuan Se.

Now Sha Rulai had personally appeared, meaning even Daluo Sacred Land had been drawn in. Combined with the instructions he had received, the Ghost Doctor realized that certain people were probably about to formally make their move against Yuan Se.

But what could he do? He did not dare reveal anything.

To some extent, perhaps Yuan Se’s death would finally free master and disciples alike. Otherwise, if Yuan Se ever learned the truth, the consequences scarcely needed imagining.

Facing ordinary people would have been one thing. Faced with Sha Rulai personally leading the operation, the Ghost Doctor had no choice and dared not resist. He could only order everyone traveling with him to obey.

Those sitting on the carriage shaft jumped down. Wuxin and Guo Man climbed out from inside as well.

Wuxin’s face was gloomy. Regret did not enter into it. He had acted to help Shao Liuer, and for that he would not regret his choice.

But by now he could see that his master had been right. Some matters simply were not things master and disciple could afford to provoke. They had never been as simple as he imagined. Once involved, there was no road back.

Wuxin finally understood his own naivety. His own death would have meant little. What pained him was dragging his master into this as well.

Not one was missing. All five of the Ghost Doctor’s party were carried away on several flying mounts...

“Ao Feng!”

Wuliang Garden had been breached. Its protective formation could no longer stop the intruder. The personnel stationed there from the six Sacred Lands joined forces, bombarding him with Heavenly Sword Talismans, yet still could not stop him from charging straight for his target.

Amid deafening booms, the Wuliang Fruit tree guarded by generation after generation toppled to the ground—the only Wuliang Fruit tree in the entire Sacred Realm. The personnel from Wuxu Sacred Land let out cries of grief.

Ao Feng stood proudly and swept his gaze around him, an entirely different kind of exhilaration surging through his heart. This place had imprisoned him for half his life. This was the place that had humiliated him after he fell from favor. Now he had destroyed it with his own hands. He nearly threw back his head and howled just to vent everything inside him.

More than a dozen Heavenly Sword astral shadows came crashing toward him. Ao Feng seized the fallen Wuliang Fruit tree and swept it across them like a massive weapon.

Boom after boom rang out. Leaves and splinters exploded through the air like snow while Ao Feng transformed into a blur and shot into the sky, vanishing from sight.

He had killed some people, but he had not carried out a massacre. Those who had offended him, however, were another matter. So long as they were present, not one escaped.

With that, old grudges were settled.

No one could catch him, and no one dared pursue too far. When everyone saw the Wuliang Fruit tree reduced to shattered debris, they were left stunned.

Ao Feng’s sudden attack had directly destroyed Wuliang Garden and ruined the only Wuliang Fruit tree in the Sacred Realm, shocking the entire Sacred Realm. It also made it impossible for Du Wuxu to keep hiding what he wanted concealed...

Beneath a brilliant moon at Maolu Annex, Yuan Se reclined comfortably on a lounge chair and admired the night sky.

Consort Yuan approached and said from beside him, “The rumors say Du Wuxu stole the Wuliang Fruit. Now Ao Feng has appeared and acted this brazenly. Sir does not intend to go ask Du Wuxu for an explanation?”

Yuan Se chuckled. “If Du Wuxu truly did it, would he allow Ao Feng to behave so openly?”

Consort Yuan asked, “Then are we simply letting this go?”

“An explanation will certainly be demanded. If I do not go, the others will. I have my own plans for this. Keep a close watch on Luo Qiu’s movements.”

He did indeed have his own plans. At present, he had something more important to do.

Given the Holy Rakshasa’s strength, if she could be made to join forces with him, perhaps there would be a chance to kill the other five Sacred Venerables one by one. If that day came, whether Du Wuxu had stolen the Wuliang Fruit would no longer matter.

For now, Yuan Se also did not dare leave Luo Fangfei too easily.

Luo Fangfei was the leverage he held over Luo Qiu. More importantly, she might also be Yin Ji’s weak point.

He could not afford to lose her.

He still needed to observe Luo Qiu’s reaction for a while. Once he confirmed that Luo Qiu did not dare act rashly, he intended to take the hostage with him and go find Yin Ji.

“We have already placed eyes around Luo Qiu’s temporary residence. If anything happens, word will reach us immediately,” Consort Yuan replied.

Yuan Se gave a quiet acknowledgment.

Consort Yuan lifted her face toward the moon, melancholy filling her heart.

The Wuliang Fruit tree was gone.

The only Wuliang Fruit tree had actually been destroyed.

After Yuan Se took her eye, he had promised her that if no suitable replacement could be found, then when the Wuliang Fruit ripened sixty years later, he would try to secure one for her.

She had never placed much hope in that promise, but at least it had been a sliver of hope.

Now even that sliver was gone.

She was a woman, and a fairly beautiful woman at that. No woman would willingly spend the rest of her life one-eyed.

Women cared about beauty. Beautiful women cared even more about their appearance.

Noticing that the woman beside him had fallen silent for a long time, Yuan Se seemed to guess what she was thinking. He sighed. “My beloved consort, don’t worry. There are so many people beneath Heaven. We will certainly find a suitable match. Once the matters before us are settled, I will personally see to it that Hei Li completes this as quickly as possible.”

...

A sheer cliff rose a thousand ren into the morning sun. Beyond the cliff lay a lake, and across that lake stood the capital of Han.

Inside a cave dwelling in the cliff face, Luo Qiu sat cross-legged in meditation.

Qin Du, an elderly retainer of Daluo Sacred Land, hurried inside and reported, “Sacred Venerable, Mr. Sha has arrived. He requests an audience.”

Qin Du had handled the matter involving Yin Ji well last time, so Luo Qiu had brought him along on this journey to attend him.

At the report, Luo Qiu slowly opened his eyes and gave a quiet acknowledgment.

Qin Du immediately turned and left. A short while later, Sha Rulai entered at a brisk pace, came before Luo Qiu, and cupped his hands in salute. “Greetings, Master!”

Luo Qiu, still seated on the stone platform, stared at him coldly. “Who told you to come?”

Sha Rulai looked somewhat uneasy, but still forced himself to speak. “Master, Fangfei was abducted by Yuan Se. This disciple...”

Luo Qiu cut him off. “I have my own plans for this. There is no need for you to interfere at will. The Sacred Realm has become unstable again. I ordered you martial brothers to guard Daluo Sacred Land. Without my permission, who told you to inquire into my whereabouts and come looking for me? What are you trying to do?”

With a thud, Sha Rulai dropped to his knees. “Fangfei was abducted, and this disciple failed in his duty as her husband. This disciple is at fault.”

“Yuan Se acted personally. Even if you had been present, you could not have stopped him. I already told you there is no need to blame yourself. Do my words no longer carry any weight with you?”

“This disciple would not dare!” Sha Rulai argued from his knees. “But Yuan Se is no good man. He lusts after women. With Fangfei in his hands, this disciple can neither eat nor sleep in peace. Every additional day is another day of torment. This disciple truly cannot endure it. No matter what it takes, I have to find a way to rescue Fangfei.”

“You’re thinking too much. Yuan Se may be lecherous, but he would not go so far as to violate Fangfei. So long as I am alive, he would not dare. Enough. I have seen how you feel about Fangfei. I will handle this matter. You need not involve yourself. Go back.”

Certain secrets were involved, and Luo Qiu did not want anyone else to know them, including Sha Rulai.

Above all, he did not want his own daughter to learn the truth of her birth.

If not for that, he would have had no such reservations. He would already have gone directly to Yuan Se and seized Luo Fangfei back by force.

Sha Rulai looked up and pleaded, “Master, please let this disciple try. I have already acted. I have already captured the Ghost Doctor and his disciples. If you make me stop now, this disciple truly cannot accept it.”

“Setting aside the feelings between husband and wife, Fangfei is still this disciple’s wife. If I simply stand aside and do nothing, how will I ever face anyone again? Wouldn’t I become a laughingstock?”

Luo Qiu’s eyes flickered slightly. He merely listened to most of those words, but one sentence caught his attention. “Why did you capture the Ghost Doctor and his disciples?”

Anger appeared faintly on Sha Rulai’s face. “This disciple does not know why Yuan Se seized Fangfei, but if he dares strike at my people, then I dare answer in kind.”

“One of Yuan Se’s eyes was transplanted from his trusted Consort Yuan. Consort Yuan is beautiful. She certainly does not want to remain disfigured forever, so this disciple secretly captured the Ghost Doctor and his disciples.”

“After questioning them, I truly did find an opening through which Fangfei may be rescued.”

Luo Qiu had to admit this was a possible method.

He himself had previously considered capturing Consort Yuan and using her in an exchange. But Yuan Se held another piece of leverage in his hands, leaving Luo Qiu wary of acting.

For that reason, he did not think much of Sha Rulai’s plan and was not inclined to agree to it.

Still, he asked blandly, “What opening?”

Sha Rulai replied, “Only after questioning the Ghost Doctor did this disciple learn that Yuan Se’s transplantation of Consort Yuan’s eye was not carried out casually.”

“This transplantation art does not work with just anyone’s eye. The bodies must have a certain degree of compatibility.”

“Before they acted against Consort Yuan, the Ghost Doctor and his disciples searched on a large scale for a suitable transplant donor and had great difficulty finding one. Later, when they searched within Dayuan Sacred Land, they discovered that Consort Yuan’s eye happened to be compatible.”

“Consort Yuan herself gave up one eye only unwillingly.”

“Now she has been pressing the Ghost Doctor to find a suitable replacement for her as well. But the Ghost Doctor is currently in this disciple’s hands. If Consort Yuan wishes to restore her beauty, she cannot do without him.”

Luo Qiu said, “You want to use this to threaten Consort Yuan? Do you think she would agree? She does not have the nerve.”

Sha Rulai replied, “There is something Master does not know. According to the Ghost Doctor, the most compatible eye for Consort Yuan is actually the very eye now transplanted into Yuan Se.”

“That is the eye that can truly restore Consort Yuan completely. There is no eye beneath Heaven more perfect for her than her own.”

“The Ghost Doctor had been unable to find her another suitable eye. Consort Yuan once went personally to Medicine Valley to speak with him, so she knows this herself.”

“Master, one must never underestimate a woman’s desire to preserve her beauty.”

“This is absolutely an opening we can use.”

[End of Chapter 1459]