Chapter 106: The Eighth Person
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After hearing the woman’s words, everyone exchanged bewildered glances.
Madam Crane coughed softly before saying, “It is not that we distrust you, Fellow Daoist. It is simply that Fellow Daoist Hua has never mentioned having a junior sister. Might you produce some token of identification?”
“Of course. Before I left, Senior Sister gave me her personal spiritual artifact, the Celestial Veil, and said that you would recognize it at a glance.”
With that, Meng Qi brushed a hand over her storage ring. A red silk ribbon drifted out, radiating the scorching aura of flames.
Zhao Wuming, standing nearby, merely sneered. “Hmph. That proves nothing. Perhaps you killed her and seized her treasure, then brought it here to deceive us.”
“That is enough!”
The black-robed man, who had remained silent until then, suddenly spoke. “Whether she is Hua Weihan or not is irrelevant. So long as she can bring a pure-yin cultivator, she possesses a ticket to enter the palace and qualifies to join us.”
His bearing was extraordinary. Once he spoke, his words seemed as authoritative as imperial law. The other five immediately fell silent, apparently accepting his judgment.
“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Qin Yuan.” Meng Qi inclined her head slightly toward the black-robed man.
Qin Yuan waved a hand dismissively and continued, “Very well. Since everyone has arrived, let us prepare to break through the formation and enter the palace.”
Everyone nodded. At that moment, however, an abrupt voice came from the opposite shore of the lake.
“Fellow Daoists, wait!”
The seven sect masters on the island all changed expression. Even Qin Yuan turned his head slightly and looked toward the far shore.
A yellow earthen streak of light shot out from the mouth of the cavern and reached the island in the blink of an eye. When the light dispersed, two figures appeared within it—both ancient men with snow-white hair and deeply weathered faces.
Liang Yan swept his gaze over them, and an odd expression crossed his face. He knew both elders.
One of them was at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining. He was none other than Old Li, who had purchased a Qi Refining sword manual for sixteen hundred spirit stones at the auction in Screen Mountain.
The other was a late Foundation Establishment cultivator. Dressed in hemp robes, he stooped with a crooked back, his face covered in wrinkles and his entire appearance frail with age. He was none other than “Uncle Dog,” whom Liang Yan had once encountered by chance.
The seven sect masters already on the island all wore displeased expressions. Cloud Void Daoist said coldly, “Hmph! It seems someone among the seven of us has allowed the news to leak.”
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Zhao Wuming was even more blunt. “Fellow Daoist, our quota is already full. Taking you in with us is impossible. Letting you leave would also be troublesome. Why not remain here and help us keep this secret?”
The implication was unmistakable: he intended to silence them permanently.
Uncle Dog, however, continued to stand with his hands clasped behind his back, utterly unmoved. He merely said淡淡ly, “Heavenly treasures belong to those destined to obtain them. Nowhere in this secret realm is it written that it belongs to your seven sects. As far as I know, when you left last time, you said that anyone who brought a pure-yin or pure-yang individual would possess a ticket to enter.”
“That is true. I was the one who established that rule,” Qin Yuan suddenly cut in. “May I ask which sect or school in the Zhao Kingdom you belong to? Forgive my poor eyesight, but I have yet to recognize you.”
Liang Yan’s heart suddenly cleared. No wonder every Foundation Establishment cultivator present had brought along a Qi Refining cultivator, while this black-robed man had come alone. So he was the one who had established the rule.
“So the astonishing genius Madam Crane mentioned—the one who devised the method of using one formation to break another—must be this Qin Yuan,” Liang Yan thought.
“Heh heh. I am the sect master of the Leaning Mountain Sect, the Leaning Mountain Ancestor. You may also call me Dog Daoist. As for my disciple, he is Li Huayang, the second-generation successor of the Leaning Mountain Sect. He possesses a pure-yang constitution and can serve as my ticket into the palace.”
Uncle Dog’s eyelids lifted slightly as he spoke in an indifferent tone.
At his words, everyone lowered their heads in thought, evidently searching their memories for any sect in the Zhao Kingdom called the Leaning Mountain Sect. Only Liang Yan rolled his eyes and silently cursed:
“What a load of nonsense this ‘Leaning Mountain Sect’ is! The last time I saw him, he was merely a Qi Refining servant of the Tanshan Sect. Who would have thought that he would suddenly become a sect master of the Leaning Mountain Sect? And Li Huayang was clearly an itinerant cultivator, as Wan Chuan once mentioned. Now he has become the second-generation successor of this so-called sect. The Leaning Mountain Sect must be something he invented on the spot.”
Though Liang Yan was inwardly mocking him without end, he was not foolish enough to expose the lie at such a moment. He simply stood silently behind Cloud Void Daoist.
“This… Fellow Daoist Dog…”
Zhao Wuming seemed to consider his choice of words. With a half-smile, he said, “When searching a secret realm for treasure, strength still speaks for itself. Although you possess a ticket to enter, you have yet to prove that you are qualified to stand as our equal.”
“How am I to prove it?” Dog Daoist turned and asked.
“Simple. Take three attacks from me and let me see how much you are worth.”
“Oh…” Dog Daoist nodded. “Then, by all means.”
Seeing that no one present objected, a sinister smile touched the corners of Zhao Wuming’s mouth. He drew the long saber from his back, formed a hand seal, and slashed through the air.
A flash of red streaked past and shot toward Dog Daoist.
The red blade-light concealed a vicious and treacherous aura. Halfway there, it transformed into countless tiny blades that sliced toward Dog Daoist from every direction, as though intent on scraping away his flesh and bones.
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The sky filled with red light, and in the next instant Dog Daoist seemed destined to be hacked into countless pieces. Yet he remained rooted to the spot, unmoved. Then, quite suddenly, he raised his head and sneezed.
“Achoo!”
An eerie scene unfolded. As he inhaled and exhaled, the countless streaks of red light seemed to be tugged by invisible threads. Every one of them abruptly changed direction and slashed toward a massive boulder nearby.
Boom!
Amid a thunderous explosion, the enormous rock was reduced to dust by the red blades.
Everyone present changed expression at the sight. Their gazes toward Dog Daoist grew solemn, and even Qin Yuan’s face shifted slightly.
After sneezing, Dog Daoist wiped his nose with a filthy sleeve. Only then did he seem to realize what had happened. Turning toward Zhao Wuming, he asked, “How many attacks have you made?”
“Heh heh, Sect Master of the Leaning Mountain Sect, your supernatural abilities are truly astonishing. Three attacks have already passed; there is no need for further testing.” Zhao Wuming’s expression changed instantly, and he spoke with sudden warmth.
“Oh. Then does that mean this old dog is also permitted to enter?”
“Indeed,” Qin Yuan replied. “However, the dangers within the secret realm are unknown. I hope everyone will work together and overcome whatever difficulties we encounter.”
Though he spoke those words, his eyes glanced toward Dog Daoist, clearly issuing him a pointed warning.
“Heh heh, Sect Master Qin, rest assured. This old dog knows what he is doing.” Dog Daoist answered with an utterly unconcerned expression.
Qin Yuan saw this and said no more. He merely nodded. “Since everyone has arrived, let us open the gate.”
“Open the gate?”
Liang Yan was astonished. There was clearly nothing here but a vast, empty lake surrounded on all sides by mountains. The only entrance or exit was the mouth of the cavern they had just emerged from. Where could there possibly be another gate?