Chapter 149 You've Lost Your Mind! We'll believe whatever you say!
Quanfeng Yujingtang features a hundred inverted waterfalls.
Ji Mingran was led by Zhu Shibai, Shen Qingluo, and Guan Wangzhen to one of the streams, where a rushing torrent surged forth with a thunderous roar.
Zhu Shibai led the way into one of the channels, and the rushing water, like a silken curtain, was lifted by him, causing the waves to surge in the opposite direction.
After the three of them entered the water curtain one by one, Zhu Shibai put down the water he had created and followed them into the water curtain. "This is the perfect place to talk. The sounds inside will be drowned out by the other waterfalls and won't get out."
Ji Mingran looked around and found that there was a small stone cave hidden inside the waterfall, about ten square meters in size, not big, but big enough for the four of them to sit down on the ground.
The stone wall was covered with glowing talismans by Guan Wangzhen, making the room bright.
These talismans also seemed to have the function of blocking out noise. After Zhu Shibai lowered the water curtain, the noisy sound of flowing water outside disappeared instantly.
“Let’s begin.” Zhu Shibai nodded to Shen Qingluo and Guan Wangzhen. The three adjusted their positions and sat around Ji Mingran, gesturing for her to sit down as well.
Ji Mingran asked in confusion, "What is this?"
"Grandma." Guan Wangzhen looked at her seriously and raised the sect's jade token in his hand.
Ji Mingran followed his gaze.
Isn't this Shen Qingluo's sect jade token? What is Guan Wangzhen doing with her jade token?
The sect's jade token flashed, and Shi Jinle's panting voice rang out instantly: "Qingluo! Do you know who I saw in Qiwu Forest? It was Xiao Ji! That brat, he's only been gone a month, and he dared to run into the demonic cultivators' camp! He knew he was guilty, and when he saw me from afar, he screamed and ran away! I'll teach him a lesson! I'm going to chase after him right now! I'll bring him back!"
Immediately following the next message played, Shi Jinle's voice was somewhat hesitant: "Oh, right, does Mingran know about this? She's still in seclusion, and I don't want to disturb her. After she comes out of seclusion, please tell her for me to keep a close eye on her emotions."
Shi Jinle went to capture Xiao Ji? And he said he needed to be careful about her emotions?
Although the telepathic message was brief, it contained a great deal of information. Ji Mingran looked at Guan Wangzhen with a probing gaze.
But then the sect jade token that Guan Wangzhen was holding was snatched away, and Shen Qingluo punched Guan Wangzhen: "I told you I could!"
Guan Wangzhen grimaced, clutching his bruised arm, and muttered, "Didn't you say you were hesitant because you were worried about upsetting her? That's why I helped! It's better to be quick. Seriously, our grandma is very hard-hearted; she's not as fragile as you all think."
Shen Qinglu glared at him irritably and said angrily, "What do you know! You wouldn't understand even if I told you! The Spiritual Cultivation Competition is on a cargo ship, you're the only one who can't see that, you're the only one who doesn't understand!"
Zhu Shibai looked at Guan Wangzhen with a hint of pity: "For Wangzhen, matters of the heart are indeed beyond his comprehension."
Guan Wangzhen retorted angrily, "None of you tell me anything, so what can I understand? If you two understand, then you two should tell Grandma yourselves!"
Shen Qingluo and Zhu Shibai looked at each other, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.
The three of them suddenly started arguing and then quieted down in front of her. Ji Mingran recalled Shi Jinle's telepathic message and asked, "Are you here to discuss the matter of besieging the demonic cultivators with me?" Actually, Qingluo from Luanfeng had mentioned it earlier, but perhaps she didn't know how to continue the conversation with her, so she asked and then stopped, until now she brought it up again.
She took the initiative to start the conversation, and Shen Qingluo's somewhat conflicted expression faded as she said, "Do you still remember that demonic cultivator who appeared at the Spiritual Cultivation Competition? His name is Jiang Chaoxing, and he was also a disciple of the Nameless Sect. After the Nameless Sect was destroyed, he disappeared for many years, and unexpectedly, he became one of the leaders of the demonic cultivators."
Ji Mingran nodded; she knew about it.
"It is said that Jiang Chaoxing possesses a divination sword that can foresee fate. He predicted that the demon suppressed in Hongqi Sect would break free of the formation, so he deliberately infiltrated the Lingxiu Grand Competition to disrupt the competition and cover the demon's escape."
"Although he is dead, the demon has escaped successfully, which greatly encouraged the various demonic cultivators lurking in the Five Continents. They emerged and looted everywhere, destroying hundreds of cities. As a result, the Ten Daoist Masters gathered people to go to various continents to suppress the demonic cultivators. Of course, the most important thing is to capture the escaped demon."
After a pause, she continued, "That demon escaped from the Soul Devouring Array."
Ji Mingran met Shen Qingluo's eyes: "Are you saying that Yu Tianxing is that demon?"
They rushed to help her and saw with their own eyes that only she and Yu Tianxing emerged from the Soul Devouring Array.
Zhu Shibai said softly, "Grandma, I have thought about it carefully, and we have indeed never mentioned to you the name of the demon who was captured by the spiritual cultivators two hundred years ago."
"Yu Tianxing. This is the demon's name."
The cave fell silent for a moment.
"Grandma, you're not really upset, are you? Cheer up!" Guan Wangzhen said, "Your master has a terrible reputation in spiritual cultivation, and your friends are even more infamous. Although they're all outrageous, are you really upset? Cheer up! Cheer up!"
"...Thank you." Ji Mingran's expression was speechless: "Without your reminder, I really wouldn't have thought of this."
Seeing that Ji Mingran's expression was calmer than expected, Shen Qingluo and Zhu Shibai relaxed their slightly tense expressions a bit.
Zhu Shibai said, "In the prize pool secret realm, I recognized his Hidden Life Sword, but I was only slightly suspicious until Hongqi Sect announced that the demonic cultivators had fled, and then I was sure."
Zhu Shibai had long suspected the identity of this disciple from the Nameless Sect. The rumored demon was known for slaughtering entire sects and clans with a single stroke of his sword, his very nature cold-blooded and ruthless. Yet, during the Spiritual Cultivation Competition, while Yu Tianxing was somewhat aloof, he had genuinely taken care of Granny Ming. The stark contrast in their images was so striking that it wasn't until news of the Hongqi Sect arrived that Zhu Shibai was barely convinced the two were the same person.
This is also why he and Shen Qingluo found it difficult to speak out. How could they subtly tell Granny Ming that the person she trusted most was actually a demonic cultivator who had committed countless crimes?
For an ordinary person, this is an incredibly heavy betrayal and blow.
Fortunately, just as Wang Zhen said, Granny Ming was indeed incredibly resilient and able to withstand the shocking news.
Facing the worried looks from his companions, Ji Mingran said, "I saw his past in the formation. Although you didn't tell me the name of the legendary demon, I'm not stupid, I can make the connection. From then on, I knew that he was the great demon you were talking about."
Two hundred years ago, Yu Tianxing participated in the Spiritual Cultivation Competition, was imprisoned in the abyss, and possessed a divine sword obtained from the competition. She witnessed all of these events, including the subsequent upheavals and being hunted by the spiritual cultivators, which corresponded to the rumors about the demon lord.
Although Jiang Chaoxing's experience overlapped with Yu Tianxing's—both participated in the Spiritual Cultivation Competition, both obtained famous swords, and both were searched by spiritual cultivators for falling into demonic cultivation—on the Elite Ranking, below her name was not Jiang Chaoxing, but Yu Tianxing.
"But you still chose to let Xiao Ji take him away. Mingran, you only just learned the truth, and we can understand the choice you made in this emergency." Shen Qingluo said with concern, "But in this encirclement and suppression, he is our enemy. If we meet, we will not show him any mercy. Mingran, are you sure you can hold on? Perhaps you should find a reason not to go."
“The demonic cultivators who committed crimes certainly deserve to be punished. I will do my best to work with everyone to maintain peace in the spiritual realm,” Ji Mingran said. “But Yu Tianxing did nothing wrong; he is not a demonic cultivator.”
The three men's gazes toward her instantly turned into one of disappointment and exasperation.
“The thing we were most worried about has happened.” Guan Wangzhen exaggeratedly clutched his head: “Grandma, the way you are, you look exactly like a cultivator who is blinded by lard and wholeheartedly protects his Daoist partner. If I had known, I should have let Hehuan take turns deceiving you eight hundred times, so that you would learn to be more discerning.”
Ji Mingran patiently explained: "No, I saw it in the formation. The massacre at the Nameless Sect was not done by him, but by the sect leader of the Nameless Sect. The reason why the sect leader of the Nameless Sect did this is because he had long gone mad, and also because of him, um..." How to describe a parasitic mutant?
Ji Mingran pondered for a moment, then rephrased it in a way that would be easier for a cultivator to understand: "He was possessed by evil spirits and had long lost his sense of self. Yu Tianxing discovered the existence of such evil spirits, which is why he went to destroy the spiritual cultivation sects that were possessed by them."
The three men had complicated expressions, as if they were trying to understand her words.
After a long pause, Guan Wangzhen murmured, "Grandma, what you're saying is simply unbelievable..."
Shen Qinglu hesitated, then said, "Mingran, something... feels a bit off..."
Zhu Shibai's eyes were clear and his words were clear: "Grandma Ming, what you see is completely opposite to what everyone else has witnessed, and you even completely exonerate him for everything he did. From your perspective, he is the pitiful person who was harmed."
"But demonic cultivators are treacherous and cunning, and their deceitful methods are hard to guard against. Grandma, have you ever considered that perhaps this was a deliberate act by him to make you help him break the formation? He painstakingly caused the spirit to split apart in order to find a way to break free, and one of the strands just happened to encounter you, so he brought you to the spiritual cultivation site and gradually led you to break the formation?"
Zhu Shibai's analysis makes sense. However, Ji Mingran said, "Yu Tianxing wanted to die a long time ago, so he surrendered himself and was willing to be captured after killing all the evil creatures. The reason he scattered his primordial spirit was not only because he wanted to die quickly, but also because he did not want to suffer the same fate of having his primordial spirit devoured by the evil creatures. To be honest, the fact that his wisp of primordial spirit was able to meet me was not intentional on his part, but because he was lucky."
But what needs to be made clear is: "I came to the spiritual cultivation world of my own volition, I participated in the spiritual cultivation competition of my own volition, and as for the Soul Devouring Array, I wanted to break it. Everything I did was to become stronger. I would have done it whether it was there or not."
Ji Mingran rested his chin on his hand, looking at the three of them with a smile on his face.
The speaker's eyes were clear and his mind was firm. He was neither blinded by emotions nor manipulated by magic. This was indeed the Ji Mingran they knew.
The three exchanged glances, and Shen Qingluo said with relief, "If that's the case, then so be it."
“Grandma Ming, in my eyes right now, you’re just like a brainwashed fanatic, convinced that everything you saw in the formation is the truth,” Guan Wangzhen said. “Even though there’s chaos outside because of that person, you still think he’s right and unconditionally support him! I want to yell at you, ‘Wake up!’”
Ji Mingran propped her chin on her hand, turned to him, and smiled, a handsome smile playing on her lips: "So?"
He raised his chin, refusing to look at her, and said dryly, "Actually, I should be yelling at myself to 'wake up!'"
Ji Mingran chuckled and turned his gaze to the other two.
Zhu Shibai and Shen Qingluo exchanged a glance and said, "Before you came out of seclusion, we discussed it for seven days and seven nights without reaching a conclusion. In the end, we came to a conclusion."
Shen Qingluo stared at her intently and said, "As long as you are of sound mind, we will follow your choices, no matter what you choose."
“Since you say that spiritual practices contain evil elements, let’s work together to find out the truth.”
This was a sign of complete trust in her. Ji Mingran said softly, "Thank you."
Guan Wangzhen suddenly stood up and shouted, "Really! We've only known each other for a few days, how deep is our friendship? We'll do whatever you tell us to do, we're all out of our minds! Grandma, tell me the truth, did you secretly drug us?! Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable!"
Ji Mingran clutched his stomach and laughed loudly.
Shen Qingluo and Zhu Shibai laughed together, as if relieved of a great burden.
Guan Wangzhen was furious: "Still laughing! Laughing! Laughing! Let's go! Even if we don't capture Yu Tianxing, those demonic cultivators who took advantage of the situation to do evil will definitely suffer! This time, we'll attack together!"
*****
Inside the Yu Jing Hall, Yuan Liu looked helplessly at Chong Jue, trying to revisit the words he had repeatedly tried to say.
"To be honest, Venerable Chongjue, I really didn't mean that about Uncle Ji's cultivation level."
Chongjue added, "With three Golden Core stage disciples from the same sect traveling with you, Fellow Daoist Ji will surely benefit greatly and her cultivation will definitely improve. Yuanliu, you can rest assured about her comprehension ability."
His words suddenly stopped, and his expression changed. This was the first time he had been so relaxed and cheerful since receiving Chongjue: "Ah, they've arrived. Venerable One, please take a look for yourself."
Chongjue and the Hongqi Sect disciples who came with him looked back together, including Meng Yingyang, who had been keeping his head down and remaining silent the whole time.
The wooden door of Yujingtang was pushed open, and as the sunlight streamed in, four figures stepped in in unison.
His gaze swept over each person who entered the hall, lingering on that smiling face.
The calm, faint smile that had appeared on Chongjue's lips vanished quickly.
The number of Golden Core cultivators who entered the hall was four.
Author's note: Here it comes!
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