Chapter 37

On the night of the full moon on the 15th day of the first month, they finally welcomed Xu Zhi Nan, the head of Chunyang Sect, out of seclusion.

Xu Zhi Nan had been in seclusion for eighteen years in order to break through the highest realm of the Yuanyang technique, the Indestructible Heavenly Fire. This time coming out from seclusion proves that he has still not been able to break through this highest realm. In the 500 years since the founding of Chunyang Sect, apart from the Ancestor, there are only three people who have been able to cultivate the Yuanyang Technique to its highest level. Xu Zhi Nan, with all his natural talent, enlightenment and diligence, is likely to become the fourth person, and Chunyang Sect is only one step away from being on par with Wuliang Sect.

Therefore, when the Flying Plume Ambassador offered to exchange the Cold Jade Snow Elixir for the Seven Star Life-Sustaining Lamp, the elders of Chunyang Sect could not help but be tempted.

At about 1-3am, Xu Zhi Nan finished bathing and dressing, and met his guests in the front hall.

Xu Zhi Nan came from a merchant family, not a cultivation one, and was initially sent to Chunyang Sect only to strengthen his body, but he had excellent roots. After being accepted as a disciple by his former master, he showed his exceptional talent and later gave up his family business to pursue immortality.

A hundred years ago, at the time of the Supreme Demon's emergence and the former Sect Master's death, he was appointed to the post of Sect Master. At a time when the immortal world was at its most precarious and everyone was in danger, he not only saved Chunyang Sect, but also saved many sects and practitioners from the Supreme Demon.

This man's prestige in the immortal cultivation world is no less than that of Li Bu Yu.

Xu Zhi Nan's physique and appearance were still that of a man in his prime, except that his black hair had turned to frost and snow, and his eyes were full of the vicissitudes of a century.

When Fan Wu She looked at Xu Zhi Nan, he felt a lot of emotions in his heart.

When he saw the same old man, he had only disgust and hatred for Li Bu Yu, but for Xu Zhi Nan, who was neither an enemy nor a friend, his connection with Zong Zi Heng only brought back countless memories of his past life.

He couldn't help but wonder if he and Zong Zi Heng would look like this if they grew old together.

When he saluted, Fan Wu She felt Xu Zhi Nan's gaze fall on him, and he looked up graciously, meeting Xu Zhi Nan's gaze. Li Bu Yu had seen him as a boy and as a young man, but Xu Zhi Nan had only seen him as a boy and as an adult. Both of which were very different from his brief youthful appearance, and after more than a hundred years, he was sure that Xu Zhi Nan would not recognize him.

Sure enough, Xu Zhi Nan's gaze lingered on him for only a moment before averting his gaze indifferently.

Before Zhaowen could say anything, Hua Xiang Rong had already said in a fervent voice, "Sect Leader Immortal Lord, Elder Zhaowen should have already explained to you the purpose of our sisters' visit."

Xu Zhi Nan leaned back in his chair, his face pale and frail. His body still a little out of sorts after eighteen years of seclusion, and he said softly, "I have already heard that. I am afraid I will have to disappoint Cangyu Sect this time."

Hua Xiang Rong's eyes widened and she said urgently, "We are willing to exchange the Cold Jade Snow Elixir for just one year!"

Yun Xiang Yi's face was also pale, "Is Sect Leader Immortal Lord really not going to save us from death?"

"The most important treasure of Chunyang Sect cannot be lent out." Xu Zhi Nan said calmly and silently.

The others also looked at Xu Zhi Nan, probably feeling sorry for him. They just need to lend it for a year in exchange for an immortal pill that would help him cultivate his Yuanyang technique. This is a good deal no matter how you look at it.

"How could Sect Leader Immortal Lord be so unadaptable! A year's period in exchange for a supreme immortal elixir, why do you refuse?!" Hua Xiang Rong said angrily, "My Sect Leader's life is at stake. We only ask for a magic treasure to prolong her life for one year. As the head of a major faction of the Immortal Alliance, isn’t this cold and ruthless?!”

Yun Xiang Yi gently scolded, "Sister."

"I ..."

Yun Xiang Yi stepped forward and kneeled down in front of Xu Zhi Nan with a thud, her peach blossom-like face was full of sorrow which looked truly charming, "Please, Sect Leader Immortal Lord, save my master."

Seeing this, Yun Xiang Yi also followed suit and knelt down, "I beg Sect Leader Immortal Lord to save my Sect Leader."

All the people in the room looked at each other in disbelief.

Xu Zhi Nan was silent for a long time before saying softly, "You two, please return."

Hua Xiang Rong raised her head, her eyes filled with tears: "You ... you ... look at the fact that you and my master had a…."

The crowd stared straight with their eyes.

"Shut up!" Yun Xiang Yi said angrily, "Who gave you permission to have a loose tongue."

Hua Xiang Rong cried, "Then just watch our master die?!"

Yun Xiang Yi stood up and pulled Hua Xiang Rong up too. She returned to her indifference and arrogance and glared at Xu Zhi Nan with frosty eyes, "Sect Leader Immortal Lord’s lack of affection is no less than that year. Your life's obsession with the Immortal Dao may finally be fulfilled, but ascension does not mean completion. Will you really not regret remembering the people you have let down?"

Xu Zhi Nan sat as still as a statue, his eyelids didn't even flutter.

"Let's go." Yun Xiang Yi pulled Hua Xiang Rong up and turned to leave.

Hua Xiang Rong took a few steps, but she turned around again and sarcastically said, "What not lending to outsiders? That year the Supreme Demon came to snatch it, did you dare not to give it?”

"Don't be rude." Zhaowen scolded.

After the duo left angrily, they left the crowd with a room full of embarrassment.

They were still in shock from the fact that Xu Zhi Nan and Qi Meng Sheng might have had an affair. However, it seemed that Xu Zhi Nan had finally given up on love and was determined to follow his path of Dao, but it was a matter between a man and a woman that was most likely to cause bubbling and gurgling, and this secret had remained unknown for a hundred years.

Xu Zhi Nan was embarrassed in front of his disciples and grand disciples, so he pondered for a moment and said, "The most important treasures of Chunyang Sect cannot be lent out, so if there is anything like this again, just politely refuse."

"Yes."

Xu Zhi Nan's gaze shifted to Zhong Kui.

Zhong Kui arched his hand and said, "Immortal Lord, I have no choice but to disturb your practice."

"I have already heard from Zhaowen. It is understandable that the Heaven Master is so obsessed with that man's identity. Unfortunately, that man is not my junior brother."

Zhong Kui was astonished, "Immortal Lord can assert that without even looking at him? Junior would also like to invite you to come with me to Mount Shu ..."

"No need, that person could never be my junior brother Cheng Yan Zhi, because my junior brother ..." Xu Zhi Nan said gruffly, "was cremated by me personally."

"What?"

"After Yan Zhi's accident back then, I did escort his corpse back home with some of my disciples, but I knew that I could not leave his body intact and cremated it with the consent of his family."

"Why?" Zhong Kui and his two disciples were puzzled.

Several elders, however, showed expressions of clarity.

"There was no choice." Xu Zhi Nan said, "Because my Chunyang Sect disciples have extremely positive and pure Yang bodies. They are coveted by lecherous cultivators and demonic cultivators in life and coveted by lonely spirits after death. To them, whether dead or alive, this body is a great tonic. After the death of Chunyang Sect’s high-ranking cultivators, they are either buried in the back mountains of Luojinwu, where there are powerful barriers to keep them peaceful after death, or if they return to their hometowns for burial, the burial place is concealed and a barrier spell is set up. But my junior brother's case is too special. He has had his core stolen, and the higher the cultivation level of a cultivator who has had his core stolen, the greater the possibility of becoming a walking corpse. Even if we chant the purification incantation ten thousand times, there is no guarantee that in a few years' time his corpse will change due to deep resentment. By then it will become a great disaster."

"So just ..."

Xu Zhi Nan nodded: "Only cremation can eliminate future problems forever. Therefore, the walking corpse that was suppressed by the Big Dipper Zhengji Binding Demon Formation at the Diancang Peak could not be Yan Zhi."

Zhong Kui frowned bitterly, "But in that case, it would be impossible to explain why that person knew the Yuanyang technique."

Xu Zhi Nan sighed tersely, "Actually, there is an explanation."

The crowd all looked at Xu Zhi Nan.

"Back then, although we caught the core hunter, eliminated the Lion Alliance, and avenged Yan Zhi and many of the murdered cultivators, it was impossible to check which belly his golden core had entered.”

Xie Bi An was so shocked that he almost forgot his manners, "Are you saying that the evil spirit might have eaten your junior brother's core?!"

At these words, the crowd was in an uproar.

Although Xu Zhi Nan had already said this, after all, the era of rampant core stealing demonic cultivators is too far back. Everyone present in the scene did not think at this level, except for Xie Bi An, who had a flash of insight in his head and instantly guessed this possibility, even he did not know where this thought came from.

Fan Wu She was also shocked, Zong Ming He might have eaten Xu Zhi Nan's junior brother’s golden core?

"Is this, is this possible?" Zhaowen's face bristled white, "Master, eating a human core allows you to possess someone else's technique?"

"These past few decades, although the core thieves have not been extinct, they are indeed rare, so you guys know very little about them. What the golden core condenses is one's innate root and innate cultivation. Although it is impossible for those who eat the human core to fully obtain the golden core owner's abilities, they can obtain a portion of it. The reason why people don't know this is because the vast majority of cultivators are sword cultivators and are unable to manifest the changes in their bodies, except for Chunyang Sect cultivators, whose lifelong cultivation is all about forging their physical bodies."

"Immortal Lord, can you be sure of that?" Zhong Kui's face was extremely stern.

Xu Zhi Nan shook his head, "This is only my guess as I interrogated the Master of the Lion Alliance once, who had brutalized countless cultivators with this magic weapon, Gong Shu Ju. He had eaten no less than four human cores, and those who had eaten them could manifest some of the golden core master's abilities, which he had unintentionally revealed."

"If that's true, then it does explain the fishy situation." Zhong Kui took a breath backwards, "Why he doesn't have the physique of a high-ranking cultivator of Chunyang Sect, yet he can regenerate severed limbs."

"Actually, I have a guess in my mind as to that person's identity."

Xu Zhi Nan and Zhong Kui met at eye level. As expected, both saw a similar answer in the other's eyes.

"Master, who is it?" Zhaowen said in disbelief.

"Emperor Ning Hua, Zong Ming He."

Fan Wu She clenched his fist secretly. His mind was in turmoil, still in amazement. Of all the people present, only he could be certain that the evil spirit was Zong Ming He, just that ... Zong Ming He had actually eaten a human core? He had eaten Xu Zhi Nan's junior brother’s human core?

"Emperor Ning Hua!" An elder said in fear, "The father of the Supreme Demon and the Human Emperor?!"

Xie Bi An was equally shocked beyond words, if that man was really Zong Ming He, everything seemed to be explained. The grudge, the cause and effect, the motive, it all matched. People around the world rumored that those human cores ended up in the big immortal sects, and although this sounded like a conspiracy theory, there may be some truth to it. After all, the human cores sold by the core hunters were at sky-high prices, and the smaller sects usually couldn't afford them.

"Given the feud between the Zong clan and the Li family, it is indeed possible for Alliance Master Li to do this in order to vent their anger." Zhaowen murmured, "That's why he used the Thunder Ancestor Treasure Grant to silence him, otherwise this would be a scandalous matter if word got out. Tarnishing the face of Wuliang Sect and his personal reputation."

"If that man is really Zong Ming He, and he really ate Yan Zhi's golden core ..." Xu Zhi Nan narrowed his eyes, "If he is also the buyer behind the Lion Alliance, then could it be that he was involved in all the many cases of core thefts that happened back then? "

"But wasn't that the work of the Wuyun Sect? After the Supreme Demon destroyed Wuyun Sect, he even found a few golden cores that didn't have time to be refined."

Another elder said, "This matter has not been conclusively discussed. If that evil spirit is really Zong Ming He, I am afraid that many things that happened back then had another hidden agenda, but if not ..."

"Right, now we have confirmed that that person is not the martial uncle. We should find a way to determine whether he is Emperor Ning Hua or not."

"But how can we confirm it?"

Zhong Kui said coldly, "Why don't we ask Li Bu Yu directly. He looks like he doesn't know anything about what happened in the cave. I'd like to hear how he's going to explain."

----

Edited on 22 Mar. 21 (Emzie)

 

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