Pill Cauldron Sect’s Uninvited Guest
Upon returning to Pill Cauldron Sect, Daoist Yun Dan bombarded Yao Wuji with questions over two days. The most important topic, of course, was Daoist Yuan De and Zhuge Xiaosheng’s whereabouts. Pill Cauldron Sect was not the only sect feeling anxiety suffocate them upon catching wind that Daoist Yuan De sacrificed his life for them to escape, while Zhuge Xiaosheng was recuperating in seclusion at Formation Sect after risking his life to get them out of the mire.
Mu Yu, who had Yao Wuji take him into Pill Cauldron Sect as a branch, had no choice but to wait for the questioning to end in order for Yao Wuji to take him to the teleportation formation. Mu Yu could not have possibly bypassed the guards whom guarded the formation from the shadows, not to mention the mechanisms in place to disguise the formation’s true location, without Yao Wuji’s help.
The purpose of Mu Yu’s trip to Pill Cauldron Sect was to study the ancient teleportation formation in order to formulate his own formation for rescuing those he deemed worthy of being rescued.
***
Cai Lie, who was now a Spirit Severing Realm First Layer alchemist, shared his private stash of roast dark and spirits with Xiaoshuai whilst conversing with Mu Yu, who revealed himself to his old friend on Mystic Rainbow Peak. Cai Lie gratefully promised, “A ‘thank you’ isn’t enough for saving my shifu, so if you need me anytime, just sing out.”
Mu Yu raised up the corners of his lips. “How is your sect’s reputation after the ambush?”
Switching to a serious tone, Cai Lie explicated, “Patriarch is inflamed. Other sects are suspecting us of foul play since Archfiend Baiyuan escaped from us in the past. It’s been blow after blow for us since then…”
“The value of alchemists’ will never expire. Cultivators will need you if you fight elemental demons down the road, so they won’t harm you.”
“Yeah, but we’re still being bombarded with insults. We invited two mysterious Ascension Realm guests ranked thirteenth and fourteenth on Ultimate Immortals Rankings. Purportedly, they owe Shi Dengtian, and that’s why they’re willing to h-” Cai Lie covered his mouth upon recalling the bad blood between Mu Yu and Shi Dengtian.
“In other words, he has two Ascension Realm bodyguards?”
“Freaking white pricks,” Xiaoshuai muttered, already realising the two Ascension Realm bodyguards were Third Heaven Palace’s lapdogs.
“Shi Dengtian is now a heavyweight around here, so be careful.”
“I’ll kill him regardless of how heavy he is,” Mu Yu asserted.
“You’re going to be confronted with two Ascension Realm ultimate immortals if you try. Let’s start with filling you in on Pill Cauldron Sect’s status quo. Previously, we had three Ascension Realm elders. Now that Elder Yuan De is out of the picture, we can no longer compare to the eight great sects. The two Ascension Realm adepts guarding Shi Dengtian have given us room to breathe under the pressure. As you can tell, he’s essentially contributed to the sect big time. Oh, I almost forgot. I heard you’re in rank nineteen, yeah? You must’ve reached Ascension Realm now, right?”
“Yeah, I killed rank nineteen.”
Cai Lie whacked his thigh. “We have three Ascension Realm adepts, then. We don’t need the two of them.”
“Cai Lie, you do remember that I can’t reveal myself owing to the rumours spreading around, yeah?”
“Pfft, I’m not stupid enough to believe those rumours. You serious about staying low? You do know Patriarch isn’t a fan of the two ultimate immortals since he’s adamant they’re unnecessary when we have you? If he finds out you’re back, he’d be on cloud nine.”
“I’ll pass. My reputation isn’t exactly good at the moment.”
“Well, up to you,” lamented Cai Lie, disappointed he would have to continue bowing to Shi Dengtian and the two rats.
“Do you have information on ultimate immortals? Do you know they’re names?”
Cai Lie passed Mu Yu a detailed name list. “Only the names of the top twenty. Besides Xiang Nan… Wait, is Xiang Nan really your senior, another disciple of True God?”
“What, you believe my shifu is True God?”
“Yeah. I’m not one of the dullards out there. Sword Shadow Dust Gale is True God. Convince me otherwise. You and I are buddies; I wouldn’t suspect you just because people are slandering you.”
“True.”
Xiang Nan’s profile was as follows: Sword Shadow Dust Gale’s disciple and a carrier of earth demon abilities. He is one of the five most dangerous individuals in the cultivation world. He wields Stargazer Sword, is an inheritor of Celestial Swords Nine Summons and manipulates earth. He is the mastermind behind the ambush near Pill Cauldron Sect and the culprit behind Zhuge Xiaosheng’s death as well as Daoist Yuan De’s. His cultivation is, at least, Ascension Realm Fifth Layer. He was involved in the attacks of the five cities.
Mu Yu’s profile was as follows: Swords Shadow Dust Gale’s disciple and a carrier of wood demon abilities. He is one of the five most dangerous individuals in the cultivation world. He wields Shadow Splitter Sword, is an inheritor of Celestial Swords Nine Summons and manipulates wood. He is one of the masterminds behind Eastern Desert City’s demise and Mist City’s attack. His cultivation is, at least, Ascension Realm Fifth Layer.
Cheng Yan, Lie Shang and even Qiao Xue were incriminated with similar profiles and crimes. In addition, there were fifty million bounties on their whereabouts. Clearly, the orchestrated attacks were a catalyst to frame the five of them.
“Ultimate Immortals Hall is a bunch of crooks. You can’t believe a thing they say,” snapped Cai Lie.
“He who wants to beat his dog will easily find his stick.”
“Fifty million for you, buddy.” Cai Lie grinned.
“Your net worth dropped, Mu Yu. Weren’t you worth seven million before?” commented Xiaoshuai.
“Eat your roast duck.” Mu Yu next asked Cai Lie, “Aren’t you going to ask for verification?”
“I’d have to be an imposter to ask you about it,” replied Cai Lie. “I know you well enough.”
“How much do you know about Shi Dengtian’s bodyguards?”
“I’ve only met them once. They hide their body, hands, face, everything under a black robe. They claim to be freestyle cultivators. Rank thirteen is Qian Shange and rank fourteen is Wan Shuiyao. Patriarch didn’t force them to remove their hoods since they claimed to prefer to maintain low profiles. He’s not happy, of course, as it’s not exactly polite. The two of them are now with Uncle Shi at Heavenly Secret Peak and don’t ever leave.”
“Anything else about them stand out?”
“Mm… Yes. For some reason, I get the vibe that they’re like saints. Besides respecting them, I can’t help but respect them more. It’s as if they’re symbols of justice.”
“Cai Lie, if people hiding in hoods are symbols of justice, what am I, ‘So handsome that all of my justice points are dedicated to looking handsome’?” Xiaoshuai commented.
“Nah, I see a glutton of a narcissist. Leave some roast duck for me.”
Cai Lie tried to grab Xiaoshuai by the tail to snatch the last piece, only for Xiaoshuai to slam his bottom against Cai Lie’s hand, using the hand as a launch pad to get away with the last piece.
Xiaoshuai assumed his beast form as it was more convenient for Mu Yu to grab him and bolt in emergencies. That said, Xiaoshuai had to stay out of sight to avoid exposing Mu Yu.
“Also, after Elder Yuan De met with mishap, Shi Dengtian suddenly ascended to Body Synthesis Realm out of the blue and is now a level seven alchemist. Even though he’s now important to the sect, I’d prefer if you…”
“It doesn’t concern you. I don’t want to implicate you.”
Cai Lie knocked back a cup of alcohol. “I was trying to say, I’d prefer if you killed him!”
Mu Yu’s brow jumped up.
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