Chapter 17: What happened next? He was also someone who could overshadow Xiao Huaiyuan...
Let's leave the matter of the ten thousand spirit stones aside for now.
Before Fu Ming could even open the door, he heard the sound of a table being slammed inside, along with the clanging of a teacup shattering.
"absurd!"
"The Chen family is unaware of this matter. Do you have any evidence to support your aggressive stance?"
A figure sat leisurely beside the tea table, not as if being interrogated, but as if he were enjoying a cup of tea.
"You know nothing about this and that. Xuanluo Sect is owned by the Chen family, and the black gold ore it produces is used by the Weapon Refining Peak. The Chen family sends people to Xuanluo Sect every year, yet not a single one of them knows that there is a Demon Realm Rift in the mine. Are you all blind?"
The man paused, but instead of responding to the dangerous topic, he changed the subject.
"It was indeed our oversight that caused this, but no losses were incurred. Why don't we have the Chen family hand over the Wujin mine as punishment, so as to avoid damaging our relationship?"
“I know that you people from humble backgrounds hate aristocratic families the most, but isn’t our sect leader also from an aristocratic family? Does he really want to see the Chen family, who have supported the Tianyan Sect for a thousand years, being unjustly imprisoned?”
As expected, he was a much more troublesome old fox than Chen Chong. Not only did he avoid the main issues, but he also shifted the blame onto Xiao Huaiyuan.
After listening to half of the performance, Fu Ming leaned his left side against the window and peered inside through the gap.
This was not a courtroom specifically for interrogation, but rather a rarely used reception room with hardly any chairs. The elders who held the reins of the Tianyan Sect could only stand there huddled together, discussing amongst themselves.
A group of people, led by Elder Chen of the Refining Peak, sat on the left, while another group questioning him sat on the right. Xiao Huaiyuan sat in the middle of the two sides, like a dividing river.
The system detected a critical node and popped up an announcement: "[Humble Beginnings vs. Noble Families] Side Quest Progress Update! Please note that your choices may change the course of events and the final stat allocation."
The mechanical sounds mixed with human voices, making Fu Ming, who was still recovering from a serious illness, feel his head throbbing.
I remember I was in a cultivation world, so why is there political intrigue here? It's so long-winded. Can't we just kill all of these people?
Xiao Huaiyuan glanced over casually, and whether he saw Fu Ming's lazy posture leaning against the windowsill or not, he slowly spoke amidst the noise, bringing silence to the surroundings.
“Who says there were no losses? I, Tu Mingchen, personally ventured deep into the rift and nearly lost my life in Tai Xuan Mountain due to an attack. I can testify to that.”
It was finally his turn to appear.
Bang! Fu Ming swaggered in, his robes billowing as he walked with a gust of wind. Elder Xu Yan of Wanjian Peak followed closely behind, clearing a path for him, his steps almost like those of a servant.
Such a flamboyant entrance shocked even the elders who had long held high positions. This kid really did escape from death.
As if in response to the elder's concerns, a perfect trickle of blood spilled from the corner of Fu Ming's mouth, just the right amount, perfectly revealing his status as a patient.
He pretended to frown and cough twice, then laughed again.
"Dear seniors, I'm still not fully recovered, so I'll keep it short."
"The matter of Mount Taixuan is inextricably linked to the Chen family. I was once ambushed and dragged to the Demon Realm Rift by someone in the mine. Elder Xu can testify to this."
"That man is Chen Chong, the son of the Chen family."
No one dared to speak inside; it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Fu Ming looked around and saw that the Xuanluo Sect manager, who had run away at an extremely fast speed, was kneeling on the ground. He was very stubborn and refused to say a word.
Aside from the high-ranking members of the Tianyan Sect who came here for the meeting, there were also several miners who had been subdued in the hall, but they still couldn't get anything out of them.
How could a cowardly fellow suddenly change his ways and guard a secret? Fu Ming stepped forward and grabbed the steward's chin. Sure enough, there was a barely perceptible silencing mark on his tongue.
Once the secret is revealed, the cultivator will explode and die; this is a common tactic used by demonic cultivators.
The old fox was cunning; the mastermind behind it all managed to clear himself of all charges. Only letters found at the scene, informing the mine manager, were discovered, and none of them mentioned anything related to the Chen family.
"Oh."
Seeing Fu Ming deep in thought, Elder Chen finally let out a cold laugh. The wrinkles on his face were gathered together, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, and he had a similar temperament to Chen Chong, who had tried to harm him by pretending to be possessed by a demon that day.
"Even if you are the sect leader's beloved disciple, you must be careful with your words. You can't slander someone's reputation out of thin air, young friend Ming."
"Oh, I've learned something new."
A look of understanding appeared on Fu Ming's pale and sharp face, but his eyebrows were raised high, not as if he was showing weakness, but as if he was holding back something bad.
"Of course there is evidence, Elder, just wait and see."
He immediately turned around and rushed towards Xiao Huaiyuan.
To outsiders, the distance between them was abnormally close. Fu Ming not only whispered in Xiao Huaiyuan's ear but also bent down to grope inside his sleeve.
Xiao Huaiyuan's earlobe turned slightly red from the warm breath he exhaled.
He replied to Fu Ming in a low voice, "What do you want?"
Unfortunately, Fu Ming, being a staunchly straight man, was too oblivious to romance and completely failed to grasp the implied meaning behind Xiao Huaiyuan's attempt to curry favor with him.
Give me those two things.
"Also, is Chen Chong's sword still in your storage bag?"
Fu Ming had two conjectures. First, the existence of the Demon Realm Rift was intentional on the part of the Chen family, because demonic energy could stimulate the crystal growth of black gold ore.
When they entered the mine from the underground river, the two miners who had died tragically from arrows hurriedly collected the stone fragments, but some still escaped.
The reason for laying so many stone slabs in the cave is precisely because it is profitable.
A jet-black stone slab and a fragment of black gold ore, tinged with gold, were placed in Fu Ming's left and right hands respectively. The two complemented each other, displaying remarkably similar textures. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, demonic energy began to emanate from the stone slab, while the golden dust within the black gold ore fragment swirled rapidly, causing the crystals to slowly grow, as if they were living creatures, eagerly consuming the demonic energy.
Although the newly grown mineral crystals are only millimeters in size, over the years they grow, they can amount to a considerable amount of wealth.
"Elder Chen, I haven't wronged you, have I?"
Fu Ming held up the mineral crystal and circled it around, giving everyone a chance to see it, including the Xuanluo Sect manager and the elder of the Refining Peak. The former's eyes flickered unnaturally, while the latter's expression remained unchanged.
"That makes sense, but this was just a mistake made by subordinates who were blinded by greed. What does it have to do with the Chen family and the Weapon Refining Peak?"
"Elder, why are you in such a hurry? I haven't finished speaking yet—"
He put his index finger to his lips to signal silence.
"If Chen Chong knew this in the afterlife, and heard how eager you were to sever ties with the Chen family, he would probably return as a vengeful ghost and haunt you every day."
Secondly, although Chen Chong changed his appearance and his body fell into the lava and turned to ashes, he still left something behind, such as his blood.
Chen Chong, who was too clever for his own good, was unaware that when he stuck the stone shard into Fu Ming's neck, the shard ended up splattered with his own blood.
What's even more ingenious is that after his precious sword came into Fu Ming's hands, it was quickly confiscated by Xiao Huaiyuan without being released from its master-recognition state, which could be used to test the source of the bloodstains.
A sword has a spirit; even if its master dies, it can still recognize him.
Fu Ming brought the blood-stained stone shard close to the sword, and sure enough, it produced a mournful hum.
He then used the sword to make a cut on his own wrist. The still-flowing blood dripped onto the sword, but it did not cause any unusual reaction.
"If you truly knew nothing about it, why did you arrange for Chen Chong, who had been expelled from the Tianyan Sect, to be sent to the rift in the Demon Realm, even at the cost of causing him to fall into demonic possession?"
"Do you dare swear to God, Elder Chen?"
The gleaming sword suddenly flashed in front of Elder Chen, startling him so much that he staggered and fell to the ground. Then, Fu Ming swiftly withdrew the sword, as if he had only shown it to him.
The elder from a humble background, who already disliked Elder Chen, strode forward and grabbed the old man by the collar. The low combat power of weapon cultivators was well-known in the Immortal Realm; if it really came down to a fight, Elder Chen probably couldn't even defeat a Foundation Establishment stage Fu Ming clone. He immediately glared at Fu Ming, his neck stiff, and pleaded for help from the relatively easy-going Xiao Huaiyuan.
"I...it's not true, Sect Leader, please listen to me..."
...
"Did you send people to maintain the rift in the Demon Realm?"
"I did it."
Elder Chen's cloudy, grayish-blue eyes suddenly became lifeless. He opened his mouth to argue, but inadvertently uttered his true feelings.
A gleaming golden seal floated in mid-air, slowly rotating, shining like the dawn piercing the darkness.
"Did you send Chen Chong to the Xuanluo Sect to secretly participate in this matter?"
"yes."
Who is the Nascent Soul stage wood-elemental cultivator in the Tai Xuan Mountain mine?
"It's a cloud..."
This mudra is slightly different in appearance from Xiao Huaiyuan's natal mudra, and is smaller in size. It is called the Mantra Mudra.
While Xiao Huaiyuan was interrogating Elder Chen, Fu Ming was still transmitting his voice into Xiao Huaiyuan's consciousness. He had been craving his junior brother's True Word Seal for a long time, but had never seen him use it.
"If you have such a good thing, why didn't you bring it out sooner?"
"The conditions are stringent; the target's mental defenses must be weak. If this person is under a silencing spell, then..."
"Will it?"
Boom!
A blinding light swept out from the front. Even though Xiao Huaiyuan managed to raise a true essence shield to protect Fu Ming in time, Fu Ming, who only had half a bar of health left, was still impacted and staggered for a moment.
Elder Chen's mouth was wide open, but his tongue had been blown away, leaving only a bloody, mangled hole that looked horrifying.
"It will explode."
"...Okay, I understand without further explanation."
The elders, whose cultivation level was at least at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, still had the strength to protect themselves. It was pitiful that the Xuanluo Sect steward kneeling below had not revealed a single clue, but unfortunately died in the aftershocks of the explosion.
On the other hand, Elder Chen had served as a main peak elder in the Tianyan Sect for many years, so how could he have fallen to the point of being silenced by a silencing curse?
Who is behind him?
Although they had found out who was behind the rift in the Tai Xuan Mountain Demon Realm, the people standing at the explosion site had solemn expressions, and the gloomy atmosphere lingered for a long time.
On the way back to the peak, they happened to be traveling together with Xu Yan for a while, and Xu Yan quickly gave him a crash course on the history of the struggle between the poor and powerful families of the Tianyan Sect.
"If you ask me, life was better for us poor people when Fu Ming was still alive."
"...Oh, I forgot you don't know this person."
Fu Ming knew perfectly well that he simply wanted to hear how his former fellow disciples would evaluate him.
"He was a prodigy who could outshine Xiao Huaiyuan. He had only been a disciple for ten years but had already defeated all the other disciples in the sect. He was just as infuriating as you when he spoke. It's a pity about him later."
What happened next?
Unexpectedly, Xiao Huaiyuan, who was riding a sword with Fu Ming on his back, suddenly accelerated, leaving the noisy Xu Yan far behind.
He placed his hand on Fu Ming's shoulder, his deep voice sounding somewhat eerie.
"If you want to know, I will tell you."
A note from the author:
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