Chapter 24

Xue Ji stood in place, regulating her breathing, and quickly regained control of her true qi. A figure landed beside her, a man, completely enveloped in a layer of blood light. Without turning her head, Xue Ji said, "Congratulations, Hall Master Zhao, on refining the Blood Cloud Miasma."

"Where is the Bloodstone?" Hall Master Zhao asked coldly.

"It has already been taken by Ximen Shuai," Xue Ji replied, ignoring this Hall Master Zhao.

"What about the young Daoist from the Yunqing Sect?"

"Is there any need to ask?" Xue Ji waved her hand, and the bracelet flew back from the land temple and bound itself to her arm.

Hall Master Zhao said, "Ximen Shuai is extremely cunning and has the Seven Break Flag in his possession, making him difficult to deal with. There are many righteous people around here. Let's return to the sect and report to the Sect Leader before making any decisions."

"Yes!" Although they were not from the same hall, Xue Ji was just a hall protector, while he was a hall master, so she naturally had to be more polite in her words.

Was it the karmic retribution for Lin Fan's lie that led Xue Ji to protect Lin Fan? Of course not. Who was Xue Ji? A protector of the evil sect, someone who could break promises, kill, and plunder without batting an eye. However, if the Bloodstone was taken by Ximen Shuai, it could still be forgiven. If Lin Fan had defeated her and taken the Bloodstone, it would be a different story. Besides, Lin Fan had already run far enough, and the righteous forces were gathering in the Jiulang Mountains. She did not want to redeem herself by venturing into the tiger's den. She had already been surrounded by the righteous forces once tonight, and she knew that two fists could not fight four hands.

...

The Seven Break Flag and the Ziwei Qiankun Circle were Ximen Shuai's two main magical treasures, while the ancient sword was only kept out of sentiment because it was the first sword his master had forged for him. Ximen Shuai had always been in the Western Continent, which was the territory of the Demon Sect. He had never encountered any formidable opponents, and for a moment, he felt quite pleased with himself. Now he realized that the Demon Sect had always respected his master, the former Demon Lord, and although they had issued a warrant for his arrest, they had never sent their best hands.

Today, when dealing with an unknown figure from the Blood Shadow Sect, he was forced to use the Seven Break Flag, confirming his master's death, which made him somewhat disheartened. He lost some of his desire to reclaim the Bloodstone, flew quietly over the Jiulang Mountains, and no longer provoked anyone. He did not go near Lotus Mountain and instead headed west, toward the Western Continent.

Lin Fan returned to Lotus Mountain and asked, "Where is Senior Brother Gu Yan?"

Bai Mu, who was meditating, replied, "I don't know. He said he would be gone for a while."

"Oh!" Lin Fan also sat down to meditate and eat, having bought quite a few good things at the market today.

Ten miles away from Lotus Mountain, in a mountain stream, Gu Yan stood before a man. The man asked, "Make your move!"

"You have been unkind to the Yunqing Sect, so I cannot be unrighteous to you," Gu Yan replied, standing straight.

The man nodded, "The Yunqing Sect is not bad; at least they haven't made their sons rebel against their fathers."

Gu Yan asked, "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to take something, the Bloodstone," the man said. "It's on your companion. Go and get it for me."

"Why?" Gu Yan asked, "Why should I listen to you?"

The man replied, "Otherwise, I'll take it myself."

"Fine, I'll get it for you, but you have to answer me. Why did you betray the Yunqing Sect and become the leader of the Blood Shadow Sect?"

The man, who was Gu Yan's father and the leader of the Blood Shadow Sect, said, "There's no answer. You can either go get it or I will. Choose for yourself. You should know that the people in the Jiulang Mountains are not even worth my attention."

"Wait."

...

In the morning, Lin Fan shouted, "Where is the Bloodstone?"

"Huh?" The other three immediately opened their eyes. Ye Wushuang asked, "Did you lose the Bloodstone? I told you to give it to Senior Brother Gu Yan for safekeeping, but you didn't listen..."

Lin Fan gritted his teeth, "Bai Mu?"

Bai Mu shook his head, "No one has broken into the Jiulang Mountains. Did you lose it before you came back?"

"Oh!" Lin Fan slapped his thigh in frustration, "I fell for it. The other night, an animal stole my talismans and brush... Damn Ximen Shuai, he got it again." The same trick was used twice, and this... Lin Fan was not angry about losing the Bloodstone because he was not sure of its value. What he regretted was being tricked by Ximen Shuai, and being tricked by such a mediocre method.

Gu Yan said, "If it's lost, it's lost. It's better to avoid evil people from coveting it."

Lin Fan said, "Because evil people are coveting it, I think it must be a good treasure... Forget it, if it's not mine, it's not meant to be. This is the will of fate."

After saying that, he quickly went to Bai Mu's side to watch him perform divination. Ye Wushuang rolled her eyes in disdain. Just a moment ago, he said it was the will of fate, but now it's not? Bai Mu nodded, "A loss may turn out to be a gain."

Ye Wushuang chimed in, "It seems Senior Brother Gu Yan is right. Losing the Bloodstone might actually be a good thing."

Gu Yan's lips twitched, as if he wanted to smile.

Lin Fan asked, "Why don't you lose your spell scroll?"

"My spell scroll won't be lost. Unlike someone, who had their yellow paper and brush stolen one day and their treasure stolen the next. Who knows what else might be stolen the next day?" Ye Wushuang showed a sharp canine smile, "Do you think someone might be stolen?"

Lin Fan hit Ye Wushuang on the head, and Ye Wushuang got angry. Lin Fan laughed, "Got hit on the head yesterday, got hit on the head today, who knows if I'll get hit on the head tomorrow."

Ye Wushuang stretched out her claws and pounced at Lin Fan. Lin Fan dodged, and the two started to play-fight. Normally, Gu Yan would cough and say, "Control yourselves." It meant that as disciples of the Yunqing Sect, they should not act improperly in public. But today, Gu Yan was distracted and did not focus on maintaining the sect's dignity.

"Huh?" Bai Mu exclaimed in surprise.

"What?" Ye Wushuang and Lin Fan stopped fighting and asked together.

Bai Mu said, "I divined for Ximen Shuai, and it says: 'Not in this mountain, deep in the clouds, his whereabouts unknown.' It seems Ximen Shuai has already left the Jiulang Mountains."

Lin Fan was furious, "Sure enough, that despicable and shameless scoundrel."

"Let it go, let it go," Gu Yan advised, "Let the evil treasures be fought over by them. Bai Mu, why did the literature say that the world was in chaos during the great battle of the evil sects three hundred years ago?"

Bai Mu, well-read and knowledgeable, said, "The world consists of twelve continents, but there are many other places. It is said that far, far to the west of the sea, there are still living beings. But why is it called the twelve continents? Because the twelve continents are densely populated. The desolate lands occupied by the evil sects also have people living there, but they are relatively few and lack cities."

"When the evil sects entered the Western Continent, the first to be attacked was the Hundred Ghost Sect. They slaughtered all living beings, creating a large number of white bone banners, which trapped the souls of the living. Capturing livestock was optional for the white bone banners, but capturing civilians increased their power, and capturing spiritual beasts, cultivators, and Buddhists increased their power even more. At the time, the Demon Sect was caught off guard and could only protect themselves. The six counties of the Western Continent were completely massacred. There was also the Evil Cultivation Sect, which kidnapped young boys and girls to refine elixirs and increase their power. The Blood Shadow Sect was even more arrogant, directly entering the Central Continent and massacring eight counties in one night, creating the evil treasure, the Supreme Nine Blood Formation, which has now become the Blood Shadow Sect's protective treasure. When the Yunqing Sect received the report, they immediately dispatched a large number of experts, who clashed with the main force of the Blood Shadow Sect in the Central Continent."

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