Chapter 107#
Beneath the plum trees, silence fell over the group.
The Li Huo Sect was once a major sect near Thorn Stream, specializing in arrays and dharma tools.
Most of the natal dharma tools and spiritual swords held by cultivators in the immortal realm had been sought from the Li Huo Sect.
The foundation of the Li Huo Sect’s smithing was the massive spiritual vein they guarded.
But on the day of their extermination, the spiritual vein was completely hollowed out, and the turbid energy suppressed beneath it instantly poured out.
There was only that one spiritual vein near Thorn Stream; in other places, spiritual energy was thin and unsuitable for cultivation. The Li Huo Sect was the only immortal sect in the vicinity, surrounded otherwise by mortal towns and villages.
The place where An Wuxue was born into the mortal world was also near Thorn Stream.
Nine out of ten mortal souls in the two realms lived there.
Once a massive amount of turbid energy dispersed, the immortal sects wouldn’t have time to react, and untold numbers of lives would be lost.
To re-suppress that turbid energy, the entire Li Huo Sect sacrificed themselves to the calamity.
By the time Qi Xun arrived, the bodies of the sect disciples were piled like mountains, and the old Sect Master and all the elders had perished.
When he stepped into the hollowed-out spiritual vein, there was nothing left but an expanse of Chun Hua sword marks.
Later, rumors spread that someone had seen An Wuxue hurrying toward the Li Huo Sect that day, with no other unfamiliar immortal or demon cultivators in sight.
The evidence was solid and undeniable.
Back then, when everyone turned against An Wuxue, it was because news of the Li Huo Sect’s extermination had spread. People tracked him to Thorn Stream and cornered An Wuxue, who was covered in turbid energy.
Cultivating turbid energy to turn demonic and slaughtering a dear friend’s entire sect became the final straw that broke An Wuxue.
In the years immediately after his fall, immortal cultivators speculated that An Wuxue had been discovered turning demonic by the Li Huo Sect and had slaughtered them in a panic.
In the centuries that followed, Xie Zhefeng traveled across the four seas and finally found the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit, a supreme treasure of heaven and earth.
By then, Qi Xun had been calm for a long time and found many inconsistencies.
He borrowed the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit and returned to the ruins of the Li Huo Sect.
When the tree spirit’s radiance fell upon the site where thousands had died, not a trace of resentment could be found.
They had died without hatred.
Among the thousands of array cultivators of the Li Huo Sect, if they had truly died at An Wuxue’s hands, how could not a single one of them harbor resentment?
But Qi Xun’s discovery came too late.
An Wuxue was already dead.
These past events, and the explanation that no one believed at the time, were not entirely clear to Pei Qian and Qu Jizhi, so An Wuxue recounted them once more.
“The matter of the Li Huo Sect originated from the fifth Heavenly Pillar that I suddenly discovered at Thorn Stream.”
Pei Qian was shocked: “The fifth one!? Aren’t there only four Heavenly Pillars in this world, all of which were destroyed during the Immortal Calamity, leading to the creation of the Four Seas Ten Thousand Swords Array as a replacement?”
An Wuxue gave a bitter smile: “Before that day, I also believed there were only four Heavenly Pillars in the world. I never expected there to be a fifth hidden from the world.”
“That pillar was never recorded. The moment I saw it at Thorn Stream, I began to worry about an exceptionally grave matter—if there were originally five Heavenly Pillars and four were destroyed, yet no major catastrophe occurred across the two realms and four seas, could it be because this one remained?”
“If the Four Seas Ten Thousand Swords Array can replace the four pillars, is it because there is still one true pillar communicating between heaven and earth?”
“Then what would happen if this last one met with disaster?”
Xie Zhefeng looked at the person beside him and asked in a low voice: “When Senior Brother saw the fifth Heavenly Pillar, it was already in a precarious state, wasn’t it?”
An Wuxue nodded.
He looked at Qi Xun: “I said these things a thousand years ago. Sect Master Qi should be aware.”
Qi Xun’s cheek twitched violently, as if he were clenching his teeth hard.
—An Wuxue had said it, but at the time, he hadn’t believed him.
An Wuxue simply continued: “Perhaps because I was born as a blessing of heaven’s will near Thorn Stream, I had a premonition when the last Heavenly Pillar was in danger. I felt a sense of unease, always feeling that Thorn Stream was in peril.”
“When I reached Thorn Stream, I indeed saw the fifth Heavenly Pillar revealed, covered in turbid energy and on the verge of causing a massive catastrophe! At that time, Junior Brother was at a critical moment of his seclusion for ascension. I didn’t dare disturb him, yet I couldn’t abandon the common people.”
“In my haste, I thought long and hard. To save the suddenly revealed fifth pillar, I could only use the nearest spiritual vein—the one belonging to the Li Huo Sect—as a source of spiritual energy. Using my golden body and jade bones as a medium, I first drew the turbid energy into my own meridians and transferred spiritual energy to the pillar, exchanging spiritual energy for turbid energy to purify it.”
“The situation was critical, and I had to hurry to the Li Huo Sect. I obtained the consent of the Li Huo Sect before taking away more than half of the spiritual vein. I never expected disaster to strike after I left.”
An Wuxue was no fool; he would never drive himself to a dead end unless there was no other choice.
At that time, Xie Zhefeng was already striking for the Immortal Realm. As long as his junior brother successfully emerged from seclusion, the Immortal Calamity would surely end. He only needed to preserve this pillar.
He had intended to return to Falling Moon Peak and go into seclusion to slowly expel the turbid energy from his body, but the moment he finished purifying the fifth pillar, he was hit full force by the news of the Li Huo Sect’s extermination.
The fifth Heavenly Pillar had also conveniently vanished from sight.
The whole world knew there were only four Heavenly Pillars in the two realms and four seas.
An Wuxue’s claim that he was covered in turbid energy because he was saving a fifth pillar sounded like a blatant fabrication.
He had no way to defend himself, and with his golden body and jade bones shattered, his strength was greatly diminished. He was completely unable to fight those who besieged him and could only fight his way back to Falling Moon Peak with his last breath.
After that…
There wasn’t much of an “after that.”
Having finished, he finally looked back at Qi Xun.
He said: “After I told the old Sect Master Qi about the pillar, he was also very anxious. But since only my golden body and jade bones could perform the method, he had no way to help and urged me to quickly dig out the spiritual vein to save the pillar. He was by my side when I performed the extraction; we specifically confirmed that the hollowed-out portion wouldn’t cause the vein to collapse. Only then did I leave with a massive amount of spiritual energy.”
An Wuxue lowered his gaze, a look of sorrow appearing in his eyes.
“…When I left, truly nothing was wrong with the Li Huo Sect. I really didn’t know, and I truly hadn’t turned demonic.”
Xie Zhefeng had been watching An Wuxue the whole time. The moment An Wuxue’s expression darkened, he heard the words his Senior Brother hadn’t spoken.
He knew his Senior Brother only too well.
His Senior Brother seemed to be explaining, but he was actually blaming himself for the destruction of the Li Huo Sect.
He said solemnly: “The truth of the Li Huo Sect was unknown back then, but it is very clear now—this matter is just like the hollowed-out spiritual veins we discussed earlier. Someone dug out the remaining spiritual vein after you left.”
It was all very clear now.
An Wuxue took more than half the vein, and the culprit took the rest. One after the other, it caused the turbid energy to disperse, and the Li Huo Sect was destroyed in their attempt to suppress it.
“The culprit who took advantage of the situation deserves ten thousand deaths. Senior Brother, do not blame yourself…”
An Wuxue shook his head and said with a complex tone: “That is now. Back then… didn’t Junior Brother also say I deserved my fate?”
Xie Zhefeng felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
“Those words were from the inner demon…”
Qi Xun was even more distraught.
Xie Zhefeng was the one who killed An Wuxue, but he was the one who had pointed a sword at him and driven him to a dead end.
He said abruptly: “A-Xue, we have also been searching for the fifth Heavenly Pillar you mentioned all these years, but we’ve made no progress. I misunderstood you back then—”
“Sect Master Qi,” An Wuxue hurriedly stopped them, “the tragedy that befell your sect was something I couldn’t accept when I heard of it either. I also once thought that if I hadn’t taken more than half the spiritual vein first, those events wouldn’t have happened.”
But it had already happened, and they were here to discuss the future. What use was there in wandering fruitlessly through the past?
“It’s just a pity. When you questioned me at Thorn Stream back then, and I heard from you that the entire Li Huo Sect had sacrificed themselves, I thought I had indeed accidentally destroyed the root of the spiritual vein during the extraction, causing the disaster. I didn’t expect that someone else might have acted after I left, allowing that person to remain free for a millennium.”
Qin Wei’s brow was tightly knit: “We didn’t expect it either. Primarily because no one from the Li Huo Sect left any last words—Old Sect Master Qi sacrificed himself, yet didn’t even send a sound transmission to Qi Xun…”
“What if the Old Sect Master you speak of did leave last words, but they just never reached him?” Qu Jizhi said suddenly.
Shangguan Liaoliao said: “We’ve thought of that. Old Sect Master Qi was only one step away from ascension back then; it was only because of his limited lifespan that he couldn’t strike for the next realm. Intercepting his sound transmission without a trace would be nearly impossible.”
Qu Jizhi countered: “But what if the last words were entrusted to the culprit by the Old Sect Master himself?”
Everyone looked at him.
Qu Jizhi shrugged: “We all likely share a common assumption—the mastermind behind my mother is probably only one person. Because if that person truly had their own faction, they wouldn’t have to keep using people from the cities bordering the four seas.”
“I am not of your generation and didn’t experience these events firsthand, so what I say might not be right. And I’m not thinking from the perspective of this Old Sect Master you speak of, as I didn’t know him.”
“I’m just thinking: if I were the killer, and I was alone, yet I had to infiltrate the Li Huo Sect to destroy the remaining spiritual vein and frame the just-departed First Seat An, it would actually be very difficult. Because at that time, First Seat An had just taken more than half the vein. The Li Huo Sect experts couldn’t possibly be unaware of the vein’s importance; they would surely be guarding it and be on high alert.”
“For me to hollow out the rest of the vein would be equivalent to acting right in front of these experts.”
“How could that be done? Even if it were, how could it leave no trace? So how would I accomplish it?”
Pei Qian nodded: “Right, so how would you accomplish it?”
An Wuxue: “…”
Qu Jizhi answered his own question: “Then I would naturally use my identity as the Young Master of the Qu clan and walk into the Li Huo Sect openly.”
“I wouldn’t need to hide or find a way to secretly destroy the vein. I would only need to make Old Sect Master Qi believe that I was an errand boy for First Seat An.”
Pei Qian marveled: “You actually considered it from the killer’s perspective. This is truly the most useful your sickness has ever been.”
“…”
Qu Jizhi continued: “Just as First Seat An leaves, I arrive using my identity as the Qu Young Master, saying the spiritual energy he took wasn’t enough and that I must take all the remaining spiritual vein to save the common people.”
“At that moment, in Old Sect Master Qi’s eyes, the Li Huo Sect would no longer be important, because the consequences of the last Heavenly Pillar collapsing would be an unbearable weight. Even if everyone in the Li Huo Sect knew that hollowing out the vein would release turbid energy and that they would have to use the lives of the entire sect to fill the void, the cultivators would do so without hesitation.”
“And as for me? I only need to openly and without hindrance hollow out the rest of the spiritual vein, watch the Li Huo Sect throw away their lives to re-suppress the turbid energy, and then quietly depart. Everything would be perfect.”
“Perhaps Old Sect Master Qi did leave last words. But in his eyes then, I was there to save the pillar and was a trustworthy person. A sound transmission might go wrong, but wouldn’t letting me relay the message be even safer? So not only could I take the spiritual vein without any damage to myself and cause the destruction of the Li Huo Sect, I could also take the Old Sect Master’s last words with me, making the fact that I had ever been there a secret known to no one.”
“What if the extermination became known? Everyone who saw me was dead, and the last words of the Li Huo Sect cultivators were in my hands, unheard by anyone. The one who dug out the vein was An Wuxue; what did it have to do with me?”
An Wuxue said thoughtfully: “But all of that was because you were the Qu Young Master, you—”
His voice stopped abruptly, and he instinctively turned to look at Xie Zhefeng.
His junior brother looked back at him at the same time.
Their eyes met, and they both saw the same suspicion reflected in the other’s gaze.
—The killer possessed an identity or token that could earn the Li Huo Sect’s trust during the Immortal Calamity!