Chapter 279 – What Our Azure Cloud Sect Says—That's the Reason

Before meeting Lu Chen, Yi Hanqing had already resolved himself to die.

He planned to return to the Azure Cloud Sect and atone with his death after safely delivering Qu Linghong’s son to the Eastern Divine Continent.

But after hearing Lu Chen’s speculations, Yi Hanqing finally calmed down.

As the Sword Burial Peak Leader, Yi Hanqing’s cultivation to his current Realm relied on more than just Aptitude.

With just a moment’s thought, he recognized the strangeness permeating the entire incident.

First, although Qu Linghong originated from the Demonic Path, many actually knew of her connection to him.

No matter how foolish the Heavenly Heart Villa members were, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to use Qu Linghong as a Cauldron for refining their hearts.

After all, there were far too many better choices than Qu Linghong.

Second, Yi Hanqing felt the letter delivered to his Cave Residence was far too timely.

Had it arrived earlier, he could have saved Qu Linghong from the fiery abyss, and thus would not have vented his rage on the entire Heavenly Heart Villa.

Had it arrived later, if he hadn’t been forced to kill Qu Linghong with his own hands, he would have been furious but not driven to lose his sanity and suffer Qi Deviation.

Yet the letter arrived precisely at that moment, allowing him to meet Qu Linghong in her final moments, ultimately leading to the current situation.

Finally, hadn’t he encountered an unusually large number of Demonic Path cultivators along the way?

Although as a disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect’s Hidden Sword Peak, Yi Hanqing had indeed traveled extensively in previous years.

Relying on his exceptional Swordsmanship, he had slain quite a few Demonic Path cultivators.

But ultimately, at that time, he was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

No matter how many Demonic Path cultivators he killed, it wasn’t enough to become widely known among them, let alone provoke a collective retaliation.

Moreover, these Demonic Path cultivators somehow knew about the infant in his arms being an Innate Spirit Body.

This was something even he had only recently discovered.

How did the Demonic Path cultivators learn of it?

After piecing everything together, Yi Hanqing grew increasingly convinced that his current predicament was not mere coincidence but the result of deliberate manipulation.

As for what they wanted from him, Yi Hanqing wasn’t yet sure.

But one thing he was certain of: a grudge had now been formed between him and them.

“Junior Brother Lu, do you have any clues at the moment?”

Lu Chen hesitated for a moment but decided to share some of his speculations with Yi Hanqing.

Although they were merely conjectures, Lu Chen believed there was over an eighty percent chance they were correct.

After all, although the Central Province was vast, there were few Transformation Soul Stage Cultivators who remained in seclusion.

The Transformation Soul Stage Cultivator he had just encountered was most likely a patriarch from some Sect.

This also implied that the so-called “Nine Realms Token” was likely their means of communication and mutual recognition—a pass of sorts.

As for why Yi Hanqing had been chosen by them…

Perhaps they believed Yi Hanqing possessed the qualifications to join their organization.

Thus, they orchestrated everything to isolate him, leaving him with no choice but to join them.

At this point, the situation was undoubtedly clear.

“The influence of the Hundred Sects of the Central Province may all bear their mark, but as to which specific Sects… this Junior Brother has no way of knowing yet.”

“Understood.”

Yi Hanqing nodded, then stood up.The expression on his face was no longer as rigid as before, now carrying a hint of vitality.

Yet, the present Yi Hanqing could never truly return to what he once was.

He glanced at Lu Chen, then looked past him.

“I suppose besides you, Junior Brother Lu, the Elders of the Sect must have come as well?”

Lu Chen nodded.

“Peak Lord Leng of Hidden Sword Peak is waiting for you not far away. Additionally… many disciples from the other peaks have also come to see you off one last time.”

“As for the rest of the rabble, the Demonic Path scoundrels who tried to take advantage of the chaos have already been slain by our fellow disciples.”

“Disciples from other non-demonic schools have been driven a thousand miles away.”

“Those four renegade monks from Little Thunderclap Temple were probably the last Demonic Path practitioners you’ll ever see.”

Hearing this, Yi Hanqing couldn’t help but laugh. “I never thought I’d end up involving all of you in the end.”

Lu Chen smiled along. “The Sect Leader only expelled you publicly, but in our hearts, we still consider you one of us.”

“We never doubted your reasons for destroying that family. Our only question was why you would fall to the Demonic Path because of it, nothing more.”

At this point, Lu Chen looked toward a distant direction.

He sighed. “Go now, Senior Brother. Peak Lord Leng has been waiting for you for some time.”

“We can all see that although he appears cold and ruthless on the surface, he has a warm heart. After learning about your specific circumstances, he definitely won’t be too hard on you.”

“However, if you wish to return to Central Province again… I’m afraid it won’t be so easy.”

Upon hearing this, Yi Hanqing said with great composure, “Keeping my life is already fortunate enough. I dare not ask for more.”

“But I hope you can promise me one thing, Junior Brother Lu.”

“Please speak, Senior Brother.”

“If you ever find them in the future, you must inform me. Since I, Yi Hanqing, began walking the Dao, no one has ever schemed against me to this extent.”

“If I don’t avenge this, even in death I won’t be able to rest in peace.”

“You might have to wait quite some time then, Senior Brother. After all, they started planning this decades ago, which shows how deep their foundations run.”

“Moreover, I suspect you’re far from the only one who’s been schemed against. Perhaps in other sects, people have already fallen victim to their plots.”

“That’s fine. Before raising Buhui to adulthood, I won’t easily return to Central Province anyway.”

Hearing this, Lu Chen glanced at the infant in his arms.

Though the baby was just a month old, it had already shown remarkable Aptitude.

At the very least, it possessed a Superior Spiritual Root.

However, its Divine Soul seemed affected by some kind of power, carrying a pure malevolence.

This malevolence couldn’t be easily removed even by Lu Chen.

After all, this malevolence had already fused with its Divine Soul, becoming part of its Three Ethereal Souls and Seven Corporeal Spirits.

Removing it would mean removing part of its soul – quite troublesome.

Therefore, Lu Chen didn’t mention it.

After all, if even he couldn’t solve the problem temporarily, Yi Hanqing wouldn’t be able to either.

Mentioning it would only cause unnecessary worry.

“Alright, Junior Brother Lu, I have no regrets left, being able to see you and Junior Brother Wu Miao before my departure.”

“Dispel your Divine Ability now. Let me speak with the other senior brothers too – I can already see many familiar faces appearing.”

Lu Chen nodded, then dispelled his Divine Ability.Then, many disciples from other peaks emerged from the surrounding forest.

A True Disciple from Kangding Peak crossed his arms and said with clear dissatisfaction, “Senior Brother Yi, why must you do this? We’ve already learned the whole story from Wu Miao. To be honest, you did nothing wrong—those hypocritical beasts deserved to die.”

“If we plead for you, Peak Lord Leng and the Sect Leader will surely forgive you.”

“And even if they don’t, you could just spend a few decades or a century in confinement at the back mountain. Once Junior Brother Lu becomes the next Sect Leader, you’ll be free to leave. Why bother hiding in some remote place like the Eastern Divine Continent?”

A True Disciple from Ten Thousand Talisman Peak couldn’t help chiming in, “Senior Brother Luo from Kangding Peak speaks wisely! As the saying goes, each new generation surpasses the last. When the current Peak Lords and Sect Leader grow old, how could they possibly keep controlling you?”

“The Sect Leader’s seat rotates—next year it might be ours! If we brothers work hard and seize those positions of Sect Leader and Peak Lords, your problem will be solved by then!”

“Listen to me—later, just show some humility before Peak Lord Leng and the other elders of Hidden Sword Peak. We brothers guarantee you’ll be out in no time. It’s really not a big deal!”

Other disciples joined in: “Exactly! The Sect Leader even tried to stop us from seeing you, but we sneaked out anyway. Did he stop us? Not at all!”

“So Senior Brother Yi, just swallow your pride and apologize. It’s really not a serious matter.”

Faced with his fellow disciples’ enthusiastic persuasion, Yi Hanqing couldn’t help but laugh.

Truth be told, if this were someone with a milder temperament, they might indeed follow this advice and accept a century of confinement.

But for someone as proud as Yi Hanqing, he couldn’t bear bringing shame upon the entire Sect because of his own actions.

Leaving the Central Province was undoubtedly the best choice.

Moreover, only in a cultivation wasteland like the Eastern Divine Continent could he confidently raise ‘Li Buhui’ to adulthood.

Otherwise, the temptation of an Innate Spirit Body would drive many to take desperate risks.

Thus, Yi Hanqing looked at his fellow disciples and ultimately declined their kindness.

“Everyone, I deeply appreciate your goodwill, but I must take responsibility for my own actions.”

Seeing his resolute expression, everyone finally gave up on persuading him.

Still, they wanted to do what they could before his departure.

The Kangding Peak disciple stepped forward and unceremoniously tossed his Storage Bag to Yi Hanqing.

“Take it, take it! What decent cultivation materials could you find in a wretched place like the Eastern Divine Continent? My bag is filled with premium goods—enough for your cultivation needs for a while.”

Soon, other disciples close to Yi Hanqing also offered parting gifts.

Some gave Talismans, others offered Magic Treasures, and some even shared Cultivation Manuals.

They didn’t care whether Yi Hanqing was willing—they shoved everything into his hands.

After all, they remained within the Sect and could easily obtain such items again with minimal effort.

But once Yi Hanqing reached the Eastern Divine Continent, he would lose such privileges.

Though Yi Hanqing wished to decline these gifts, his martial brothers’ insistence left him no choice—their attitude made it clear that refusal would mean rejecting their camaraderie.

In the end, multiple Storage bags hung from Yi Hanqing’s waist.After everyone else had given their gifts, the Meow King tossed out a wine gourd.

“Catch!”

Yi Hanqing took the wine gourd and froze upon seeing the emblem of Azure Cloud Peak.

For this was clearly the ‘Millennial Cloudtop Brew’ that even Sect Leader Gu Liqing himself seldom indulged in.

For the Meow King to obtain this wine, he must have stolen it from Gu Liqing’s cellar at some point.

“Stop staring. This treasure was originally meant to celebrate your seclusion breakthrough, to share with you.”

“Who knew you’d end up in this mess? But at least it’s reached your hands, so it’s not wasted.”

“Remember to send me a message when you reach the Eastern Divine Continent. After all, our Azure Cloud Sect never forbade making friends with non-sect members.”

After the Meow King left, Lu Chen also stepped forward.

He took four golden talismans from his robe and presented them to Yi Hanqing.

“This is…”

Yi Hanqing stared at the golden talismans in his hand, expression stunned.

Lu Chen said nothing, only offering a meaningful smile.

Yi Hanqing gave Lu Chen a complicated look before carefully storing the four talismans.

Four Great Divine Power Talismans – this was a debt of gratitude… too great to repay.

Finally, Yi Hanqing gazed deeply at everyone present, clasped his fists and said: “Fellow former sect members, today we part. Who knows when we’ll meet again? I wish you all… boundless immortal fortune.”

With these words, Yi Hanqing turned and walked into the distance.

Watching his retreating back, everyone clasped their fists in unison: “We wish Fellow Daoist Yi boundless immortal fortune.”

About an hour after Yi Hanqing’s departure, Leng Yingfeng, Peak Lord of Hidden Sword Peak, approached the group holding a blood-stained spirit sword.

In his left hand, he also carried a severed arm.

The crowd displayed complex expressions at this sight.

They understood clearly – this was Yi Hanqing’s offered compensation.

Leng Yingfeng placed the severed arm into a treasure case before the assembly, stored it in his storage bag, and stated impassively: “Our Azure Cloud Sect has given other sects their explanation. Now… it’s time for them to give us one.”

“Yes!”

Soon after, a great purge led by the Azure Cloud Sect swept across the Central Province.

The primary targets were individuals and forces connected to the Heavenly Heart Villa.

After all, Qu Linghong hadn’t initially agreed to marry the young master of Heavenly Heart Villa.

Someone had persuaded her.

These persuaders might not have acted with malice, but they had nonetheless become accomplices to some degree.

Moreover, some among them likely knew from the beginning what awaited those who married into the Heavenly Heart Villa.

They had deliberately pushed Qu Linghong into the fire.

Additionally, the demonic path cultivators who participated in surrounding and attacking Yi Hanqing also fell within the Azure Cloud Sect’s reckoning.

Though Yi Hanqing had been officially expelled from the Azure Cloud Sect,

even a discarded disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect wasn’t someone just anyone could casually surround and attack.

Finally, the Azure Cloud Sect needed to demonstrate their stance through this action.

To show that even though Yi Hanqing was no longer a member of their sect, he still maintained certain ties with them.

If anyone dared risk targeting Yi Hanqing in the Eastern Divine Continent for the so-called Innate Spirit Body,

they would have to consider whether they could withstand the Azure Cloud Sect’s subsequent retaliation.

This situation, where offending one person was like provoking the entire sect, reminded other schools in the Central Province once again just how fanatical the Azure Cloud Sect could be.Offend anyone, but never offend them.

Otherwise, they truly won’t reason with you at all!

To summarize with what the Azure Cloud Sect disciples have been saying most frequently lately:

That would be…

“Reason? What we, the Azure Cloud Sect, say is reason.”

“If you’re not convinced, then come to the Azure Cloud Sect and find us yourself.”

(End of Chapter)