Chapter 127: I Could Have Accepted My Own Failure

Chapter 127: Chapter 127: I Could Have Accepted My Own Failure

"Who knows? Maybe a Loose Cultivator took it long ago."

Xie Xichen nodded. It was no surprise that Yu Haoyong was unwilling to elaborate. He was already quite satisfied that this hidden pillar of light now belonged to Purple Cloud Valley. His only regret was that he hadn’t seized it himself; instead, it was one Junior Brother Liu had acquired directly through a trade for Spiritual Cuisine.

This undoubtedly guaranteed the safety of the Purple Cloud Valley disciples, but it left him feeling a bit unsettled. A trial was supposed to be a tempering of iron and blood, yet his junior brother had used Spiritual Cuisine to turn it into a marketplace.

Besides this special pillar of light, there were five others, originally discovered and held by Loose Cultivators, that Purple Cloud Valley would also be taking over.

Of the forty pillars of light in the central region, Purple Cloud Valley held twenty-five. Factoring in the pillars held by Qingxu Hall, Thunder Mountain, and the various Noble Families, there probably weren’t many left.

"It was indeed taken by a Loose Cultivator."

Yu Haoyong nodded. ’That person clearly wasn’t a disciple from the Three Immortal Sects or any of the major Noble Families. If he were, he could have just steamrolled the entire trial. Maybe not all of it, but he could have likely brought nearly seventy percent of Fire Dragon Valley’s pillars under his control.’

Xie Xichen didn’t press the issue, and Yu Haoyong offered nothing more. The two waited in silence for the pillars of light to activate.

"Your Highness, Nangong Ye is here."

Before long, a guard’s voice sounded from outside the hall. Yu Haoyong glanced at Xie Xichen and slowly walked out.

Arriving beneath the lava for the first time, Nangong Ye curiously sized up his surroundings. ’This place is truly incredible. If Qingxu Hall had found it first, we would have gained considerable benefits.’

"Fellow Daoist Nangong, I can help you remove the Cyan Eagle Blood Mark, but I want to know all the details of my third brother’s death."

Yu Haoyong came out and, dispensing with all pleasantries, got straight to the point. His first goal was to obtain the Cyan Eagle Blood Mark from Nangong Ye. His second was to find out whether that Loose Cultivator had lied to him.

"It’s a long story. As soon as I entered Fire Dragon Valley, I met up with four junior brothers from Qingxu Hall..."

Nangong Ye took a deep breath and began to speak, his mind drifting back to that afternoon. The five of them had leaped down the cliff, a touch of excitement in the air, only to be met by an ambush from the Black Feather Dynasty. If he hadn’t possessed a Protective Spiritual Artifact, his story would have ended right there.

"A guard from the Black Feather Dynasty shattered Yu Haenze’s Spiritual Power Shield from behind with a Spirit Arrow Technique. A long-brewing bolt of Celestial Thunder then took the last of his life. That’s what happened. I could have accepted my own failure, but to win in such a humiliating fashion..."

When he finished, Nangong Ye looked at Yu Haoyong with a resigned expression. ’He even suspected the guard had been planted by the very Eldest Prince standing before him. After all, a guard meant to protect the Fourth and Fifth Princes had appeared at his side—that was the best proof there was.’

"I see."

Yu Haoyong let out a deep sigh. ’So that settles it. The Loose Cultivator wasn’t just making things up. All the pieces of the puzzle are now in place.’

’If there was one lingering question, it was why that Loose Cultivator had a grudge against the Nangong Family. But that wasn’t a concern for the Black Feather Dynasty.’

"The members of your Nangong Family were killed by the Hundred Ghosts Elder. He once brought Nangong Mu’s soul to my fourth brother to negotiate leaving Fire Dragon Valley. My condolences."

Yu Haoyong watched Nangong Ye in silence. ’Although the Black Feather Dynasty wasn’t directly involved,’ he thought, ’the Hundred Ghosts Elder only acted because he wanted to leave Fire Dragon Valley. So you couldn’t say it was completely unrelated to the Dynasty.’

"Where is the Hundred Ghosts Elder?"

Nangong Ye took a deep breath. Although he had been the one to decide to use the Black Feather Dynasty to cut out the rot in the Nangong Family, his own brother’s death was a blood debt that had to be paid in blood.

"I don’t know. Many Loose Cultivators, and even some Evil Cultivators, made deals with the Black Feather Royal Family to leave Fire Dragon Valley. But to my knowledge, the Hundred Ghosts Elder wasn’t among them. Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility that he possessed someone else’s body. The methods of Ghost Cultivators have always been sinister."

Yu Haoyong shook his head. ’The Black Feather Dynasty has taken in a number of Loose and Evil Cultivators. Or rather, ’taken in’ isn’t quite the right term. Sixty percent of them were backed by the Dynasty from the start. Now, they’re simply returning to the fold openly.’

But the Hundred Ghosts Elder had truly never appeared. The Meridian Passage Realm Loose Cultivator seemed to have vanished without a trace.

"Your younger brother’s reputation wasn’t the best. If it’s true that he was harming female cultivators, and the Hundred Ghosts Elder got his soul, he was most likely refined into a Soul Slave."

Xie Xichen, unable to hold back any longer, finally walked out from the hall. He had been paying close attention to Liu Chen recently, and as a result, a great deal of information had come his way.

Among the bits of intel he’d gathered, the affair with the Ye Family stood out. The conflict between the Ye Family and the Nangong Family was practically common knowledge, and at the heart of that conflict was Nangong Mu.

"Unfortunately, it’s true."

Nangong Ye’s expression turned ugly. ’Bad news certainly travels fast. Before the trial, only people in Qingxu Hall knew about this. How does Xie Xichen from Purple Cloud Valley know now? And in such detail?’

"Well, that’s a shame."

Xie Xichen smirked. ’Nangong Mu’s death is a good thing,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, in three years, when the agreement came due, the Nangong Family would have been annihilated. And that’s not even considering the relationship between that girl from the Ye Family and Junior Brother Liu.’

’The apprentice of the acting Peak Master of Purple Bamboo Peak becoming Nangong Mu’s concubine and Furnace Cauldron? The moment Purple Cloud Valley caught wind of something like that, the Nangong Family would be utterly destroyed.’

’Whether the engagement came before or after she became a disciple was irrelevant. Purple Cloud Valley wouldn’t care. As long as the acting Peak Master considered her his apprentice, the Nangong Family would be doomed.’

’But now that Nangong Mu was dead, everyone would forget about it in time. As long as the Nangong Family laid low and developed peacefully, they could still survive.’

"Time to get down to business."

Yu Haoyong held out his right hand. The Cyan Eagle Blood Mark on his arm began to glow, becoming bright and dazzling. The mark on Nangong Ye’s arm did the same.

Once the resonance between the marks reached a certain point, the Cyan Eagle Blood Mark on Nangong Ye’s arm detached itself and flowed into Yu Haoyong’s arm. The marks quickly merged into one, then gradually faded. From the outside, there was no sign that anything was amiss with Yu Haoyong’s arm.

"Fascinating."

Xie Xichen narrowed his eyes. ’The appearance of the Cyan Eagle Blood Mark on Yu Haoyong means he personally killed his own brother.’

"I must go search for the Hundred Ghosts Elder now. Farewell, you two."

Nangong Ye glanced at his own wrist, feeling more certain of his suspicions. ’It’s very likely that Yu Haoyong is the mastermind pulling the strings behind the scenes. But that has nothing to do with me. Even if I can’t find the Hundred Ghosts Elder, I still have to do my part to secure the allotted spots for Qingxu Hall.’

"Don’t you find it strange? Nangong Ye must have expected someone would move against the Nangong Family."

Watching Nangong Ye’s retreating figure, Xie Xichen couldn’t help but ask.

"Everyone knows Nangong Mu was better off dead. Nangong Ye is no exception."

Yu Haoyong shook his head. "Mo Xuan’s reputation was forged in blood. If Nangong Mu hadn’t died, how would the Nangong Family have handled the situation when the girl from the Ye Family formally became Mo Xuan’s disciple?"