Announcement to all
After Yu Zhu relayed all the information she had learned from Shao Zaihuan to the sect, the two went to the Divine Path.
There were still quite a few people around the Shinto, but the Shinto Pond could already be seen through the gaps in the crowd.
The sacred pool is surrounded by a white jade railing, about two arm's width wide, and its depth is not visible. The pool is filled with colorful spiritual and magical energy, like a colorful brocade.
The Divine Pool will be full in just half a palm's breadth.
"It seems that what Baili Changsheng said was true; the path of divinity is indeed going to be restarted."
As Yu Zhu spoke, she looked at Jing Xu, only to see him staring straight in one direction.
Yu Zhu shook his hand. "What are you looking at?"
"I just saw a girl who looks a lot like my senior sister."
Yu Zhu's delicate eyebrows arched slightly. "What? You suspect I also have an older sister?"
"No, it's just a coincidence."
"Let's follow whichever way she went, just in case we run into her again."
Jing Xu pointed out the direction, and the two walked there, strolling around. The matter of saving the cultivation world depended on how the sect leader and the others planned, so they just waited for the arrangements.
"That girl seemed to be a medical practitioner; she went into the Qin family's medical clinic."
Looking over, Yu Zhu saw a girl in a blue dress busy at the counter.
"Her features do resemble mine somewhat... but she looks more like my mother."
"My senior sister's mother's surname is Qin."
Her mother in her previous life was surnamed Qin, and she took her mother's surname and was named Qin Yuzhu.
"I don't remember anyone calling her by her name; they all called her Doctor Wan."
"Does Senior Sister's mother still have any blood relatives alive?"
“I don’t know. My mother raised me in a small town in Luohai City. I’ve never met any of her relatives.”
"Should we go in and take a look? Maybe it really is related to your mother?" Jingxu asked in a low voice.
Yu Zhu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Forget it, it's been so long."
The two returned to the inn.
Over the next few days, they visited the Divine Pool every day. The spiritual and magical power within the pool increased at a rate of one finger's width per day, and more and more people poured into the capital. Even in the suburbs, cultivators set up camp.
To maintain stability in the city, the Zhao family sent people to patrol every day, and also set up guards at the Divine Path Pool.
All the powerful figures from various sects arrived in the capital, including the Baili clan.
Jing Shu also came to the capital with Baili.
Jing Shu and Yu Zhu met up at the inn.
"Senior sister, did you find anything out about the Baili clan?" Yuzhu asked.
Jing Shu's expression was grave. "There's something wrong with Baili Changsheng's body. His body was poisoned with Gu poison. He died from poisoning."
“Now we can confirm that Baili Changsheng is the mastermind behind the Immortal Peak Pavilion. The Immortal Peak Pavilion uses Gu worms to suppress the repulsion of the spirit demons,” Jing Xu said.
“That’s right. I sent a message to Baicao Village and found out that someone broke into the village and stole a large number of blood-drinking insects many years ago. It must have been Xianding Pavilion.”
"Aren't the Blood-Drinking Worms supposed to suppress the demonic bloodline?" Yu Zhu asked, puzzled. "Does that mean everyone in the Immortal Peak Pavilion has demonic blood?"
"I don't know, but we can speculate that Baili Changsheng re-refined the Blood-Drinking Worm, turning it into a Mother-Child Gu that can control the other people in the Immortal Pavilion, and it also has a deadly poison backlash that forces him to abandon his own body."
"What about the Gu worms inside Baili Changsheng's body?" Jing Xu asked.
Jing Shu shook her head. "I don't know."
Yu Zhu: "If he wants to control the Immortal Peak Pavilion, he must still have the Mother Gu left behind, but since he wants to fly as the Demon God, the Mother Gu should not be on the Demon God."
"Let's leave that aside for now. I'm here mainly to find Azhu. Tonight, the Emperor is hosting a banquet for all sects, and the sect leader has decided to reveal Baili Changsheng's conspiracy. Azhu, you might need to be present."
Yu Zhu paused for a moment, then said, "Okay."
"Senior sister, can I go with you?"
Jing Shu was taken aback, her gaze shifting between them. She had noticed the awkward atmosphere between them earlier.
"Worried about Azhu?" Jing Shu's words carried a hint of teasing.
"Yes, I'm worried."
"Don't worry, Master is here, nothing will happen," Jing Shu said.
Jingxu lowered his eyelashes, and Yuzhu grasped his hand. "Sect Master, Senior Brother and the others are all here. What could possibly happen?"
"Okay, I'll wait for my senior sister to return at the inn."
Jing Shu chuckled, "Let's go, A-Zhu."
Yu Zhu patted Jing Xu on the shoulder, "Let's go."
She followed Jing Shu into the palace once again. This time, the banquet was held in the main hall of the palace, and the participants were all core members from various sects and regions, who were also those who would ascend to immortality after the opening of the divine path.
Yu Zhu took his seat in the Yingtian Sect's area and looked around. Almost everyone had a smile on their face, except for Baili Shi.
The newly appointed clan leader, Bailifu, had a cold expression, while the others looked as if they had lost their parents.
Does no one in the Baili clan know about Baili Changsheng's scheme?
Before I could think any further, the banquet began.
The Emperor and Empress sat at the head of the table, while the concubines and their children were not present.
The Emperor coughed lightly, "The cultivation world hasn't been this lively in a long time. The divine path is finally about to truly restart. I wish everyone a smooth ascension."
Smiles appeared on everyone's faces, but unfortunately, this harmonious scene was destined to be broken.
"Since everyone is here, Yingtian Sect also has something important to tell you," the sect leader said.
"You're not talking about that Immortal Peak Pavilion, are you? We've searched for so long and haven't found it. Maybe it's just a trick by the demons," someone said.
“It’s not a smokescreen at all; both the Yinshan Mountains and the Guiyi Sect know about this.” Jing Shu stood up.
Hou Ji said at the opportune moment, "It is indeed true."
Guiyi Sect hesitated and said, "Yingtian Sect said that Ningwu is an undercover agent of Xianding Pavilion and can use magic, but we have not seen it with our own eyes. We think Ningwu should be a demon who was not found out eighteen years ago."
“Ning Wu is indeed someone involved from eighteen years ago, but those people were the ones captured by the Immortal Peak Pavilion to develop evil arts…”
Jing Shu explained in detail to everyone that the Immortal Peak Pavilion had been researching how to artificially widen meridians as early as two hundred years ago. Later, they discovered that the demon bloodline could withstand the pain of widening meridians. The Immortal Peak Pavilion colluded with the Demon God, demanding the Demon God's blood in exchange for breaking the seal of the Bi'an Gorge.
"...Judging from the people captured by Yingtian Sect, Xianding Pavilion has absorbed many people who are not good at cultivation and expanded their meridians."
“But spirits and demons are mutually exclusive, how can they cultivate at the same time?” someone questioned.
"The people of Xianding Pavilion stole the Blood-Drinking Worms from Baicao Village and used their methods to refine them into Mother-Child Gu. With the addition of secret medicine, they can not only resolve the conflict between spirits and demons but also control their subordinates," Jing Shu explained, before dropping another bombshell.
"And this kind of Gu worm has a deadly poisonous backlash. After our investigation, we found that Baili Changsheng's corpse was covered in deadly poison, and he is the person behind the Immortal Peak Pavilion."
The crowd looked on with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.
"How is this possible? Dual cultivation of spirit and demon..."
Jing Shu gave Yu Zhu a look, and Yu Zhu walked into the hall. She first unleashed a burst of spiritual power, and then a burst of magical power.
The hall fell silent instantly.
Jing Shu: "Have you all seen it clearly? Do you want to see it again? As for Baili Changsheng's Gu poison, it is indeed true, and the Baili clan can testify to it."
All eyes immediately focused on Bailifu. Her face was grim as she uttered, "The clan leader's corpse does indeed contain Gu poison."
"Even so, now that Chief Baili has passed away, the Immortal Peak Pavilion can no longer amount to anything."
“If that’s the case, that would be really good.” Jing Shu scoffed, “Bai Li Changsheng’s primordial spirit has entered the body of the Demon God, and he will ascend to heaven in the body of the Demon God.”
The people in the hall fell into a long silence.
Yu Zhu had barely opened her mouth when someone interrupted, "If he can truly ascend and leave the cultivation world, it wouldn't be a bad thing, would it?"
Yu Zhu paused for a moment, then said, "But what if there are problems with the ascension?"
The crowd gasped, "What does that mean?"
Yu Zhu turned to the person at the head of the table and asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, what do you mean by 'truly restarting' the divine path you just mentioned?"
The Emperor frowned: "One night more than two hundred years ago, I suddenly felt the divine path tremble. I went to check and found the Hundred-Li Clan Chief standing beside the divine path, spitting out blood."
"He said he expected Shinto to be restarted at that time, so he came to check, but it turned out that he was injured instead."
Jing Shu: "It is clear that the restart of the divine path is not as simple as we thought."
“But the Divine Pool will be full soon, and we can’t fake that.”
...
When Yu Zhu left the palace, feeling dizzy and disoriented, the crowd had not yet reached a conclusion.
Most people felt that since Baili Changsheng only wanted to ascend to immortality by using the Demon God, why waste energy dealing with him?
A few people, including Ying Tianzong, believed that Baili Changsheng must be up to something and that they should capture him and find out what was going on.
Since there's a trap, let Baili Changsheng ascend first, and then we'll know the truth.
If it were a trap, would he have ascended to heaven first? And what about the hidden members of the Immortal Peak Pavilion? What if they launch an attack on the capital at any time?
...
Yu Zhu certainly supported the Yingtian Sect, but since her word didn't carry weight, she left the palace alone.
"I'm back." Yu Zhu pushed open the door, but Jing Xu was nowhere to be seen. She turned around and saw Jing Xu coming upstairs.
"Where did you go? Why are you back later than me?"
Jingxu took Yuzhu's hand and went into the house with her, where they sat down at the table.
"I went to inquire about the Qin Family Medical Clinic. Would you like to hear about it, Senior Sister?"
Yu Zhu was stunned. "Tell me, what did you find out?"
Jingxu's clear and gentle voice narrated the story in a gentle and soothing manner.
The Qin family's medical clinic produced many doctors and practitioners, and their families settled in the capital city for generations.
More than two hundred years ago, a female healer in the Qin family went missing. At that time, the demons' invasion of the capital failed, and her family suspected that her partner had been killed by the demons.
The female healer claimed that her Daoist partner was still alive, and she left the capital to search for him, saying that if she found him, she would travel around the cultivation world.
That female healer never came back.
After listening, Yu Zhu curled her lips and said, "Don't be surprised, that female physician might actually be my mother."
Jingxu stood up and put his arm around Yuzhu, "How was your day at the palace, Senior Sister?"
"Sigh, they still have debates to offer, and they're still hoping that Baili Changsheng will be their touchstone."
Yu Zhu looked up at Jing Xu and said, "It's late. You should go back to your room. You've had a long day, and I need to rest too."
After Jingxu left, Yuzhu stood by the window. Her mother in this world was gone, but what about her mother in the modern world? Was Dr. Qin alright? Would she have a chance to go back?
As Yu Zhu raised her hand to close the window, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a person in a black robe passing by at the end of the street, who looked like the black-robed cultivator from the Ruins of No Blade.
Without a second thought, Yuzhu jumped out of the window and chased after him, sending a message to Jingxu along the way.
The man seemed to have noticed Yu Zhu following him and quickened his pace. Yu Zhu followed closely behind him and entered an empty street.
The man stood in the distance, and his face was indeed that of the man in the black robe from that day.
The jade bamboo summons forth the green frost.
"Why don't you come forward? Are you scared?" the black-robed man asked in a deep voice.
Yu Zhu looked around at both sides of the street, then swung her sword and slashed several deep marks into the ground, destroying the array she had set up in advance.
"Why did you lure me here?"
"Unexpectedly, some of the original group of people actually became Qiongfang's disciples. He was determined to kill the Demon God, but he never thought that his only disciple would have demon blood."
Yu Zhu gripped her sword tightly. "It was Baili Changsheng who tampered with the magic crystal. Are you a member of the Baili clan?"
"That's not important. What's important is that we are all from the Immortal Peak Pavilion. How much of your cultivation came from the Immortal Peak Pavilion? Why not return to the Immortal Peak Pavilion and ascend to the God Realm with us?" the black-robed man tempted.
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