Chapter 85

With the protection of a demon cultivator like Lu Xiaoding, Ge Pi naturally wasn’t afraid of Yuan Zhi. He raised his head and said fiercely, "Yes, my mother, one of you evil cultivators, lured me here, teaching me to be bad just to have me kill righteous cultivators in the future. Now that I know the truth, I naturally want to leave and reform myself to be a good person."

"Turns out you have family, I’ve never heard anyone mention it before." Yuan Zhi paused, thinking that if this was true, he was no longer a member of the Ghost Spirit Sect, but he still needed to be eliminated.

Yuan Zhi watched him silently, then suddenly asked, "I’m sure you also know that your master is your father."

Ge Pi stared at him blankly, "Master is my father?"

Seeing his bewildered expression, Yuan Zhi explained, "A few hours ago, Master just told me about this, mentioning that he brought you back. At first, he did say he wanted to raise you to be bad to take revenge on your mother for not choosing him back then. But later, he told the truth, that they were actually in love, but your mother’s family disapproved, forcing them to separate."

"To have something to remember, your mother gave birth to you and entrusted you to him to raise. That’s why he treated you so well, even though you didn’t live up to his expectations. He was thinking that once he advanced to the Soul Formation stage, he would have the power to challenge the sect, then he would forcibly bring your mother back to reunite your family."

"Impossible, you must be making it up. How could Master tell you such things?" Ge Pi didn’t believe it at all, thinking that Yuan Zhi wanted to harm him because he helped the righteous cultivators. These evil cultivators were all cunning and deceitful, surely trying to make him afraid to return. He wouldn’t fall for it.

Yuan Zhi said nonchalantly, "Why would he tell me? Because he wanted me to understand the situation and take better care of you, instead of always targeting you. Otherwise, many disciples in the sect would be jealous of your special treatment."

Ge Pi crossed his arms and snorted, "You can make up stories, but I won’t believe them."

"Whatever, since you’re going back to the righteous sect, you can ask your mother then and you’ll know." Yuan Zhi didn’t say more; he really disliked Ge Pi. His only purpose in saying this was to make him uncomfortable.

No matter the reason, he had helped the righteous sect against his own father. When he found out the truth, the situation would be particularly interesting. He wondered if Ge Pi would go mad or draw a clear line with the evil cultivators and become a righteous cultivator who hates evil, it was exciting to think about.

Lu Xiaoding didn’t join in the conversation, not interested in what they were talking about. She chatted a bit with Kong Xincai, who was very satisfied with Yuan Zhi. Whether in personality or style, he was the type he liked. As Kong Xincai put it, he was a natural evil cultivator.

He thought those evil cultivators who were obviously bad all the time lacked taste. They should act like good people when not doing evil, and be ruthless and cunning when they did.

Hearing his criteria, Lu Xiaoding looked at Yuan Zhi several times. She hadn’t interacted with him much, just met a few times and exchanged some polite words, so she didn’t know his personality.

But if Kong Xincai liked him, it was fine. She didn’t have to find another sword master for him. Thinking of how busy she was, she threw the Sound String Sword to him.

This was too sudden, he should at least say something. Yuan Zhi quickly caught the sword, feeling its unusual lightness. Before he could speak, Lu Xiaoding said, "Alright, I’ve done what I promised. Whether you want to use blood or spirit to bind it, it’s up to you. I have things to do, so I won’t stick around."

"Are you just giving me the Sound String Sword like that?" Yuan Zhi held the sword, hardly believing it. This was a mystic-grade treasure, a very famous sword. Even Soul Formation cultivators wanted to seize it, yet she threw it to him.

Actually, he had already communicated with Yuan Zhi, no matter if the story was true or not, the sword must not leave. If Lu Xiaoding didn’t hand it over, he would kill her and take it.

Hearing this, Lu Xiaoding quickly waved her hands, "It’s just the sword, I’ve never even seen the scabbard. Don’t believe me? Ask him, I didn’t withhold anything."

"..." Yuan Zhi was a bit stunned. He didn’t mean that, but was misunderstood. He looked at the Sound String Sword spirit floating beside him and said, "Seeing you can move freely in the Ghost Spirit Sect, I almost believe Ge Pi’s words. You’re a demon cultivator at the Spirit Entry stage. My point is, you’re not at all greedy. Such a good sword, you don’t even feel a bit tempted?"

He had never met anyone like this in his life, hardly believing it. Now he felt a bit uncomfortable, as if Lu Xiaoding not wanting it made him uneasy about his cultivation.

Lu Xiaoding turned to Kong Xincai, worriedly asking, "Are you sure about choosing such a person?"

"No problem, humans can’t understand your thoughts, which is normal. If you want to leave, do it quickly. Otherwise, if he gets the urge to kill, you might not be able to leave." Kong Xincai was used to this. What was worthless to a spirit might be fought over by cultivators.

They couldn’t understand why someone would see a good thing and not want it. Lu Xiaoding couldn’t have other spirits, and hardly used her spiritual power to use treasures. Thinking of this, she suddenly remembered something and pulled Lu Xiaoding aside to whisper.

"What is that?"

"Don’t think about it, I’m still improving it. When it’s done, I’ll give it to you in exchange for your spirit."

"Isn’t it better to be a good person? You should be more generous."

"I’ve already been very generous by not taking you back to the sect."

Yuan Zhi watched the two argue, seemingly discussing some kind of deal. He could hear their conversation, but it had no substance, and it seemed that Lu Xiaoding won in the end, as the deal didn’t work out.

After the talk broke down, Lu Xiaoding pulled the still angry Ge Pi, "Let’s go, there’s no need to stay. I’ll take you back."

"Brother, this is the last time I call you. If we meet again and you’re still an evil cultivator, we might be enemies." Ge Pi knew this was a one-way trip. Although he didn’t get along well with Yuan Zhi, they had lived together for many years, and there was some affection.

"The Ghost Spirit Sect is gone, we’re no longer brothers. If Master can escape and advance to the Soul Formation stage, he will surely come for you." Yuan Zhi said bluntly. Even before being accepted by the righteous cultivators, Ge Pi was already drawing a line with him. In other sects, there wouldn’t be anyone to protect him, and he wouldn’t have such a good life.

But this was no longer his concern. With the Sound String Sword in hand, the destruction of the Ghost Spirit Sect was a good thing. He and Yuan Zhi had received the news early and went to loot Master’s cave when the righteous cultivators came. Even the valuable items in the sect’s treasury were almost all taken by him. He should be the one who betrayed the Ghost Spirit Sect.

Just as Lu Xiaoding was about to leave with Ge Pi, she stopped at the cave entrance and turned back, a bit embarrassed, "Can you help us get out? The ghost tree vines at the entrance are too powerful, getting entangled means death."

Even needing help to leave, Yuan Zhi looked at her in confusion, wondering if she was a demon cultivator.

At this moment, Kong Xincai said, "Help her, it’s a favor."

Since the sword spirit had spoken, and he hadn’t yet recognized the master, Yuan Zhi decided to listen. Once the master was recognized, the sword spirit would find it hard to resist. He nodded and had Yuan Zhi take them out, just to the cave entrance, and let them find their own way back. Outside were people from the Ming Sect, and they needed to leave as soon as possible, not having time to escort them to safety.

Lu Xiaoding waved to Kong Xincai and was enveloped by Yuan Zhi’s spiritual power, who took her and Ge Pi to the cave entrance. She stood there, looking at them with a wary eye, clearly wanting to drive them away.

Lu Xiaoding originally wanted to say a few words to Yuan Zhi, asking about Lu Dan. Last time, Lu Dan almost died because of her, and she didn’t want this woman to harm him again. But seeing her expression, she thought better of it. She thought maybe Lu Dan was just temporarily confused, and they wouldn’t meet again. She decided to let it go, as Lu Dan had already promised, and she would trust him this time.

Thinking of this, she took Ge Pi and left, cutting down the ghost tree vines that attacked them, finding it very troublesome.

Yuan Zhi stayed at the cave entrance, using his spirit to constantly check the outside, while Yuan Zhi recognized the master inside with Kong Xincai. The Sound String Sword had a spirit, not one that was nurtured, so a complex recognition process was needed for a mental connection. After nearly half an hour, Yuan Zhi sighed in relief, the Sound String Sword was finally truly his.

Recognizing the master so close to the Ghost Spirit Sect was very dangerous, but he had no choice. If he didn’t recognize the master and fled first, his injuries would easily be discovered, and the Sound String Sword could be seized.

If he recognized the master first, even if it was seized, he could still retrieve it with his spirit. Considering this, he decided to stay for half an hour.

During this time, both Yuan Zhi and Yuan Zhi were afraid that Lu Xiaoding would return and bring the cultivators. But until they finished recognizing the master, no cultivators came to check, though many flew overhead.

Kong Xincai could finally follow the master around. Although being able to choose a master was good, he still said regretfully, "What a pity, if I were like Lu Xiaoding with a physical body, I could go out and travel freely."

Yuan Zhi was slowly exhaling, trying to improve his injuries before leaving with Yuan Zhi. Hearing his sigh, he opened his eyes and asked, "Lu Xiaoding isn’t human?"

"Of course not, she’s a cauldron spirit, the cauldron she always carries is her true form. I don’t know what happened, but she has a body. In fact, she can’t recognize a master in this state." Kong Xincai crossed his arms, speaking with mixed feelings.

"A cauldron spirit!" Yuan Zhi suddenly stood up, a cauldron spirit, one of the hardest to produce, had slipped right under his nose.