Seeing Chang De and the other senior brothers, Lingbo was like a young swallow returning to its nest. She grabbed her junior brother and flew over, such a rapid reaction quite carrying the meaning of finally being liberated from suffering.
Seeing Lingbo and the youngest junior brother appear, Chang De’s gaze swept over them several times, and his eyes became gentler. No matter how troublesome bratty kids were, when their fortune or misfortune was unknown, as their senior brother, he would still worry. Fortunately, both of them were fine—they hadn’t been harmed by others, and should… also not have harmed others.
When the five senior and junior siblings met, their emotions were somewhat agitated. Chang De cast his gaze toward the sky and saw Huan Zong Zhenren standing on his flying sword with hands behind his back, as well as Kong Hou standing behind him, poking her head out to look this way. Noticing his gaze, Miss Kong Hou smiled and waved at him.
Chang De curved the corners of his mouth and cupped his fists toward the two from afar.
The four independent cultivators saw Lingbo and the others appear, their feelings somewhat complex. They were both glad they hadn’t completely fallen out with the Zhaohan Sect people just now, yet frustrated that they couldn’t vent all their dissatisfaction in front of these sect disciples.
“Senior Brother, this is…” Lingbo noticed the corpse not far away, and her expression changed slightly.
Someone had still died here? Thinking of those things encountered in the secret realm, Lingbo felt vaguely puzzled. “Who died?”
“A fellow Daoist from the Independent Cultivators Alliance.” With people from the Independent Cultivators Alliance present, Chang De didn’t say much.
Lingbo turned back to glance at the four people from the Independent Cultivators Alliance and nodded at them.
The young independent cultivator who had been aggressive toward Chang De didn’t say any harsh words in front of Lingbo and returned the gesture with his hand.
“What happened here?” Kong Hou flew down from the air. The spiritual energy in the secret realm was abundant—corpses left outside could barely be smelled at all. Apart from the skin exposed outside being somewhat abnormal and the clothes still being wet, the corpse showed no signs of swelling.
It seemed the time of death shouldn’t be too long ago, unless the spiritual energy in the secret realm could affect the rate of bodily changes.
“Kong Hou Xianzi.” The four from the Independent Cultivators Alliance saw Kong Hou. The Independent Cultivators Alliance elder cupped his fists and bowed to her. “The deceased is an independent cultivator registered with our Independent Cultivators Alliance. Not long ago, Daoist Chang De discovered his corpse in the lake. He has two sword wounds on his body—the murderer is unknown.”
Kong Hou returned the bow and circled around the corpse. After bowing to the deceased, she lifted the white cloth covering his face. This was a man with ordinary features. Unless he was extremely good at sweet talk and very skilled with women, it would be difficult for a crime of passion to occur.
The two sword wounds were indeed fast and ruthless. If it were a sword cultivator with high cultivation, they could poke two holes in him in the blink of an eye.
The most skilled sword users in the secret realm were disciples from Zhaohan Sect and Liuguang Sect. Adding to that, the ones who discovered the corpse were Chang De and the others—Kong Hou vaguely understood that these people from the Independent Cultivators Alliance were probably suspecting the Zhaohan Sect people, but because they were few in number and weak in power, they didn’t dare say it outright.
But if this matter wasn’t clarified, it would only accumulate more and more conflicts, which would be difficult to resolve later.
Kong Hou stood up, her gaze sweeping around the vicinity. “I suspect the murderer may not have gone too far yet.”
The Independent Cultivators Alliance elder told Kong Hou about this matter also wanting to make the issue bigger. Even if these sect disciples weren’t willing to help speak for them, Zhaohan Sect wouldn’t easily do something like silencing witnesses in front of other sects.
Now hearing Kong Hou say this, he was somewhat puzzled—was Kong Hou trying to shield Zhaohan Sect, or did she truly want to find the murderer?
“The deceased’s time of death should be within one hour. After killing someone, if the murderer feared being discovered, they wouldn’t use a flying tool to leave, but would choose to walk instead.” Lin Hu, who had come down from the air at some point, glanced at the corpse twice and said in a calm tone, “The murderer can indeed be considered an expert with the sword. But if we sword cultivators wanted to kill someone, one sword would be sufficient to end their life—there’s no need to add another sword strike.”
Lin Hu stood up and turned to look at the people from the Independent Cultivators Alliance. “The murderer and the deceased may have had old grudges during their lifetimes.”
“This…” The Independent Cultivators Alliance elder didn’t know what conflicts had existed between these cultivators registered with the Independent Cultivators Alliance, so he frowned without speaking.
“Elder.” The middle-aged independent cultivator Lu Yi, who had been rescued, saw the people from the Independent Cultivators Alliance and was originally somewhat happy, but seeing that an independent cultivator had died, his mood became low. If he hadn’t encountered these sect fellow Daoists on the road, he probably would have become such a corpse as well.
“Lu Yi?” The Independent Cultivators Alliance elder saw Lu Yi appear behind the sect disciples, revealing some surprise in his eyes. “Why are you with Kong Hou Xianzi?”
“After Wang Jia Daoist and I were transported into the secret realm, fortunately we had the help of Zhaohan Sect Daoists all along the way, and later Kong Hou Xianzi’s assistance, which allowed us to travel safely all the way. Previously when we were surrounded by succubi, I thought death was certain, so I let Wang Jia Daoist leave first. If he encountered you all, he could still relay a message to you. I don’t know how he’s doing now, all alone.”
If he had known he would encounter these sect disciples, he shouldn’t have let Wang Jia Daoist leave alone.
Hearing Lu Yi say that Zhaohan Sect disciples had saved him, the Independent Cultivators Alliance elder became even more certain the murderer wasn’t from Zhaohan Sect. At a critical moment, if Zhaohan Sect disciples could save people from the Independent Cultivators Alliance, how could they kill other Independent Cultivators Alliance people without reason? Hearing Lu Yi mention Wang Jia, the Independent Cultivators Alliance elder extended his hand to point at the corpse on the ground and sighed.
The person lying on the ground was precisely the Wang Jia from Lu Yi’s mouth.
How could Lu Yi not understand? His mind shook and he murmured, “How could this be?” He had Wang Jia leave first wanting to preserve his life—who knew this would actually become his death warrant?
“This isn’t your fault. Don’t overthink it.” The young Zhaohan Sect disciple reached out to pat his shoulder and sighed. “You also didn’t expect such a thing would happen.”
Lu Yi forced a smile and didn’t speak further.
The independent cultivator who had challenged Chang De earlier had a somewhat awkward expression. Seeing Lu Yi, who had received Zhaohan Sect’s kindness, and the way Zhaohan Sect disciples comforted Lu Yi, even though the young independent cultivator had an impulsive personality, he slowly felt that Wang Jia’s murder had nothing to do with Zhaohan Sect.
“Just now, from across the lake on the opposite shore, I smelled the scent of blood.” Chang De was someone with meticulous thoughts and quickly speculated another possibility. “But with the spiritual energy in the secret realm so abundant, how could the smell of blood travel so far?”
Perhaps the murderer had already discovered that people from the Independent Cultivators Alliance were approaching this way and deliberately used methods to make him discover the corpse. But why did the murderer do this? Did they want to frame Zhaohan Sect, or provoke discord between Zhaohan Sect and the Independent Cultivators Alliance?
The Independent Cultivators Alliance was merely a place where independent cultivators registered their names, allowing them to exchange information and resources. They weren’t as united as sect disciples. Even if someone provoked their relationship, with Zhaohan Sect’s status, they fundamentally didn’t fear the Independent Cultivators Alliance’s power. Moreover, with the Independent Cultivators Alliance’s capabilities, they wouldn’t dare find trouble with Zhaohan Sect over one independent cultivator without evidence.
So what was the murderer’s aim in doing this?
“This murderer is truly ruthless and vicious. They’re trying to provoke discord between our sects and independent cultivators, right?” Kong Hou had a sudden realization. “Framing and shifting blame—isn’t this a common tactic of petty people?”
Story books often had such petty people using various means to frame others. If the framed person didn’t discover it, more trouble would arise.
Chang De quickly turned his head to look at Kong Hou and immediately understood what the murderer was after. What they were after wasn’t Zhaohan Sect, but rather the conflicts between sects and independent cultivators.
“Lin Hu.” Huan Zong descended from his flying sword, walked to Kong Hou’s side to stand shoulder to shoulder with her, and just happened to use his body to block Chang De’s line of sight.
“Yes.” Lin Hu cupped his fists, tossed his flying sword into the sky, and flashed away.
“Where is Senior Lin going?” Seeing Lin Hu disappear from everyone’s sight in the blink of an eye, Kong Hou felt somewhat envious in her heart. She didn’t know how long she would need to cultivate to have Senior Lin’s speed.
“To find someone.” Huan Zong guessed Kong Hou’s thoughts and smiled despite himself. “Lin Hu’s speed is faster than mine.” This was a talent brought by bloodline that couldn’t be compensated for through cultivation. When Lin Hu was transported to another place, he could find them in just two short days—it wasn’t relying on luck.
As a cultivator discriminated against by the secret realm’s bloodline, Lin Hu had no luck to speak of here.
“Huan Zong Zhenren, the secret realm is complex and ever-changing. Letting this fellow Daoist go find someone—won’t that be somewhat troublesome?” The Independent Cultivators Alliance elder knew Lin Hu had gone to find the murderer, but with arrays everywhere here and directions frequently changing automatically, trying to find someone who deliberately hid themselves was extremely difficult.
“No problem.” Huan Zong’s tone was flat. “It’s good to try.”
The Independent Cultivators Alliance elder awkwardly closed his mouth. He didn’t know why, but for some reason, he inexplicably felt that if he continued chatting with this Huan Zong Zhenren, the atmosphere might become even more awkward. He turned around to find a storage pouch and put Wang Jia’s corpse into the storage pouch.
Kong Hou saw that everyone was silent and took out a handful of fruit from her storage ring. “Everyone is tired too. Would you like some fruit?”
The independent cultivators remained silent, looking at the bright red fruit in Kong Hou’s hands without moving.
“Thank you.” A hand with distinct knuckles extended to Kong Hou’s palm and took away a fruit.
“Daoist Chang De need not be so polite.” Kong Hou divided half to Chang De and gave the remaining half to the Independent Cultivators Alliance elder. “Any misunderstandings can be cleared up by talking. Don’t spoil the harmony.”
The young independent cultivator’s face turned red. He cupped his fists toward Chang De. “I was very offensive earlier. Please forgive me, fellow Daoist.”
“No need for this.” Chang De held a handful of spiritual fruit in his hand, but there wasn’t much emotion on his face. “The matter was too coincidental—it’s normal for you to be suspicious. However, when outside, you should still restrain your temper a bit. If you encounter someone narrow-minded, you might invite big trouble.”
“Yes, thank you for the reminder, Daoist Chang De.” The young independent cultivator’s face flushed hot. Seeing that Chang De truly didn’t harbor resentment, he honestly shrank back into a corner. His views about sect disciples also underwent earth-shattering changes in his heart. Half an hour ago, sect disciples were still sanctimonious hypocrites, but now they had become people of noble character, magnanimous and gracious in their conduct.
The changes in human hearts could sometimes happen in the blink of an eye.
The relationship between Zhaohan Sect disciples and the independent cultivators became one where everyone was good with everyone. Beside them, Huan Zong stared at Kong Hou’s empty palm, silent and wordless.
Kong Hou didn’t notice his gaze. She took out several golden spiritual fruits from her storage pouch, stuffed them into his hands, and used a sound transmission technique to say, “These golden fruits are good for nourishing the spiritual platform. It’s just that the quantity is small, so it’s not good to distribute them to others.”
Watching the young girl grab his sleeve and stuff several small spiritual fruits into his hands, Huan Zong’s pupils were dyed with a touch of brightness.
She secretly gave him good things and didn’t want to give them to others?
“Good.” Huan Zong put a spiritual fruit into his mouth.
It was indeed sweet and delicious, sweet from the tip of his tongue to the bottom of his heart.
Just at this moment, two people fell from the sky and smashed a rock on the ground into pieces.
**Author’s Note:**
Little Friend Kong Hou: Sit in a row, eat fruit.
After distributing everything, she turns around to pull Little Friend Huan Zong and secretly says: I secretly saved the best fruit for you.