Chapter 313 - 308: The Whereabouts of Wu Ji and Elder Shi, Momenan’s Tragic Loss

What exactly happened to the Teleportation Array was one of the secrets Du Youqian was most interested in.

Based on the information he had gathered, he could basically conclude that it was Pang Master who had destroyed the Teleportation Array again over a hundred years ago.

But why would Pang Master do such a thing?

And when had the Teleportation Array been repaired before that?

Where exactly did Master Wu Ji and Elder Shi go?

These questions all awaited answers.

Elder Wu Fei didn’t keep him in suspense, nor did he hide anything from Du Youqian.

He stroked his somewhat dry beard, a look of helplessness crossing his gaunt face. "It was more than just ’a problem’... In fact, during the chaos of the Demon Race uprising back then, the Teleportation Array had already been destroyed once. It was the work of a traitor to the Human Race, a True Inheritor from the Holy Blood Sect named Wandering Dragon. I wonder if you still remember, fellow Daoist."

Du Youqian naturally shook his head, indicating he didn’t remember.

’Even though I was just communicating with Wandering Dragon on the Hundred Ghosts Banner not long ago, asking him if he was hungry, if he was sleeping well, and if he could be a bit more ferocious in a fight.’

"In that battle, not only was the Teleportation Array destroyed, but the Holy Blood Sect’s Golden Core Late Stage Pang Master was also outnumbered and fell on the spot. It was a grievous loss for the Human Race." Elder Wu Fei did not, because of sectarian differences, deny Pang Master’s important status back then, nor the profound impact his fall had.

One could say that although the Holy Blood Sect had lost over ten Core Formation Masters during the earlier campaign against the Demon Race and the later Blood Sacrifices...

...the loss of those dozen or so Core Formation Masters was not as crippling to the Holy Blood Sect as the fall of Pang Master!

But Du Youqian, of course, just played dumb, pretending not to understand.

Elder Wu Fei didn’t explain further and continued, "After the war, Fellow Daoist Shi of the Holy Blood Sect and Master Wu Ji of my Sect actively contacted the outside world, asking them to send people to repair the Teleportation Array. At that time, communication with the outside was difficult and extremely costly. The right to communicate was monopolized by Fellow Daoist Shi and Master Wu Ji, and we had no right to interfere. My age was similar to yours in your past life as You De, and I reached Core Formation around the same time you did. Although I had some say in the Sect back then, I was no match for Master Wu Ji."

"Although I noticed something was amiss, I was powerless to stop it. Later, the outside world finally paid a huge price, running the immense risk of being discovered by the Demon Race, to open a temporary passage that could only be activated for a short time. They sent people to repair the Teleportation Array. But Master Wu Ji and Elder Shi promised great benefits to those who came from the outside world and used that temporary passage to leave."

"Momenan suffered an unimaginably painful loss, while Master Wu Ji and Elder Shi went to the outside world. That was two hundred years ago. It’s said that now, they have both achieved Nascent Soul Formation."

Elder Wu Fei’s voice was very steady, betraying no Emotions. All Du Youqian could see and hear was an old man, his energy fading, his days numbered, calmly recounting a sad old story.

But in reality, Elder Wu Fei was not truly decrepit.

Nor was he truly calm and unperturbed.

Du Youqian could faintly sense the intense hatred and regret in Elder Wu Fei’s heart.

The Beautiful Daoist Wu Ai beside them was also clearly hearing this for the first time. Perhaps she had heard incomplete versions before, but not the full details.

Her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes were wide with shock, leaving her speechless.

Du Youqian asked, "Elder Wu Fei, what kind of painful loss did Momenan suffer, exactly?"

He found it hard to imagine what price Master Wu Ji and Elder Shi had paid to bribe the people from the outside world, breaking the rules to be allowed to leave through that temporary passage.

Elder Wu Fei shook his head and didn’t answer, only saying, "You will know in time, fellow Daoist."

He paused here, refilling everyone’s cups with piping hot Spirit Tea, before continuing, "In any case, that painful price caused the already rapidly declining Spiritual Qi in Momenan to decay even faster. If no measures are taken, in three hundred years at most, no one in the world will be able to reach Core Formation. The Spirit Veins in the Mortal World will all dry up, and the Spirit Veins in the major Blessed Lands will also degrade. That is why, after the Drunk Daoist mentioned you, I had him use all his power to help you master the Human Dao Sword. It can then be coordinated with the Celestial Dao Sword to regulate Yin and Yang and clear the Earth Veins. While it’s impossible to completely halt the decline, it can at least slow the process down a little."

Du Youqian was shocked.

He knew the situation was bad, but he hadn’t expected it to be this dire.

’What on earth did Master Wu Ji and Elder Shi give to the outsiders?’

A thought suddenly struck Du Youqian, and he already had a guess.

He planned to try Divination when he got back to see if his guess was correct.

Based on the information he now had and the high level of his Divination Art, it was possible he could succeed.

A look of compassion flashed in the eyes of the Beautiful Daoist Wu Ai. She interjected for the first time, her voice soft and pleasant, "If this continues, not only will we Cultivators face difficulty in advancing, and even a regression in our Cultivation, but mortal people will also suffer from more frequent natural disasters. It will become difficult to have children. Perhaps in one or two thousand years, they will face the crisis of being unable to reproduce. Momenan was established to preserve the last embers of the Human Race, but now, these last embers are set to be extinguished even before those in the outside world."

Her eyes and her tone were utterly sincere.

’It seems this beautiful Daoist has a bit of a Holy Mother complex.’

He actually quite liked Holy Mothers. Not only would a Holy Mother never abandon her friends, she would even risk her own life to save her enemies.

Only the weak hated Holy Mothers, because the weak lacked the ability to mitigate the collateral damage caused by a Holy Mother’s actions.

The strong, however, liked Holy Mothers. What strong person would want a large group of inherently rebellious people under their command?

’Of course, you’d want as many Holy Mothers as possible. With more Holy Mothers, they won’t betray you, and Holy Mothers also represent a stable order.’

’Of course, you can’t have only Holy Mothers. You still need some "white gloves" to do the dirty work...’

He decided that if Elder Wu Fei brought up a marriage alliance later, he wouldn’t refuse outright. He would try to befriend this Holy Mother Daoist Nun first.

Only an idiot would "kill the Holy Mother first in a chaotic world," or propose something like "protect the enemy’s Holy Mother."

A truly intelligent person would gather a group of Holy Mothers around them, using them to attract more people and build a powerful force.

In the high-level structure Du Youqian had been cultivating, he had a Demoness, a Sword Fool, an otaku, and the pragmatic Luo Jinyu. All he was missing was a Holy Mother.

"Elder Wu Fei," Du Youqian said, "what happened after that? From your tone, it sounds like the Teleportation Array was destroyed more than once?"

Elder Wu Fei sighed again. "Indeed. After Master Wu Ji and Elder Shi left, we continued to follow the old rules. The True Inheritance Core Formation cultivators from the Holy Blood and Taihe Sects took turns to garrison the Teleportation Array. The first few rotations were fine, but then, about one hundred and forty years ago, several Core Formation cultivators launched a surprise attack on the cave abode where the Teleportation Array was located."

Du Youqian said with feigned surprise, "Could it be that the location of the Teleportation Array was leaked? But according to you, Elder Wu Fei, don’t only the Core Formation True Inheritors of the Taihe and Holy Blood Sects know its location? How could it have been leaked?"

Based on his Divination and other details, Du Youqian had determined that the one who destroyed the Teleportation Array was Pang Master.

He was very curious to know what different information Elder Wu Fei possessed.

Elder Wu Fei gave a sad smile. He glanced at the Beautiful Daoist Wu Ai. "There are some things it is time you knew as well."

With that, Elder Wu Fei turned back to Du Youqian. "It is true that only the Core Formation True Inheritors of the Taihe and Holy Blood Sects know the location of the Teleportation Array. Therefore, since the array was destroyed this time, it was natural that another Core Formation True Inheritor had betrayed us. The traitor was Wu Nian Master, of my Sect."

The Beautiful Daoist Wu Ai’s delicate body trembled violently. "How could it be Ancestor Wu Nian!"

Du Youqian was also shaken internally, but he didn’t let it show. He had to pretend he didn’t know Wu Nian Master.

This was because Wu Nian Master was a Core Formation True Inheritor within the Taihe Sect whose seniority was even higher than Master Wu Fei’s.

Three hundred years ago, during the war to exterminate the demons, a number of Core Formation Masters were chosen for sacrifice. Their Essence Blood would be completely drained, but their souls would be preserved, turning them into the Living Dead.

Both the Taihe Sect and the Holy Blood Sect sent several of their own.

At that time, among the Core Formation Cultivators sent by the Taihe Sect was Master Wu Fei, who had only just reached Core Formation.

The organizational structure and factional ideals of the Taihe Sect differed from those of the Holy Blood Sect.

The Holy Blood Sect could forcefully protect its True Inheritors, but the Taihe Sect had to sacrifice one to make the other Core Formation cultivators willing to be sacrificed.

When it came time for the actual sacrifice, on the Holy Blood Sect’s side, Chen Master replaced Luo Jinyu. On the Taihe Sect’s side, however, another True Inheritor, Wu Nian Master, stepped forward and took the place of Master Wu Fei.

You could say that Wu Nian Master had saved Master Wu Fei’s life!

Master Wu Fei’s achievements today were all thanks to Wu Nian Master’s kind deed back then.

But Wu Nian Master had his Essence Blood completely drained and became one of the Living Dead.

’Even if Master Wu Fei were a shameless scoundrel,’ Du Youqian thought, ’he wouldn’t slander Wu Nian Master.’

’So, Wu Nian Master must have really betrayed them.’

’But why? Why would Wu Nian Master betray them?’

’Besides, according to my Divination, the mastermind behind the destruction of the Teleportation Array this time should be Pang Master.’

’How was Wu Nian Master bought by Pang Master?’

’As one of the Living Dead, what value did he have to be bought?’

’He knew the location of the Teleportation Array, but so did Pang Master!’

’So...’ A thought spun in Du Youqian’s mind. ’Could it be that Pang Master had pinned the blame on Wu Nian Master—a frame-up bigger than the radar dish at Red Shore Base?’

However, Du Youqian didn’t dare to jump to conclusions.

He just looked at the Beautiful Daoist Wu Ai, waiting for her to ask the questions he wanted to ask.

Sure enough, Wu Ai asked anxiously, "Ancestor Wu Fei, could there be a mistake? How could the traitor possibly be Ancestor Wu Nian? Ancestor Wu Nian sacrificed himself for the demon extermination, becoming one of the Living Dead. How could he possibly betray us?"

Elder Wu Fei sighed. "People change. We Cultivators may aspire to Becoming an Immortal, but we are still human, not immortals. I do not know what changes Martial Uncle Wu Nian went through. Perhaps the state of being one of the Living Dead was simply too torturous for him."

Du Youqian fell silent.

He had experienced it firsthand, so he naturally knew how agonizing that state was.

Unable to see or hear, one could only extend their Divine Sense for limited communication with the outside world. But even that Divine Sense was weak, and the communication could only be brief.

Moreover, there was no hope in sight, no possibility of being cured...

If he hadn’t been able to reincarnate after his lifespan ended, he probably would have broken down too.

The reason that batch of Living Dead Core Formation Masters had died so early was that many of them had simply given up on themselves.