Chapter 109#
Jiang Qing had been listening with a smile, but as An Wuxue finished speaking, his expression suddenly froze.
The secret prison was where the City Lord’s manor kept demon cultivators and immortal cultivators who had committed heinous crimes. Enclosed by barriers on all sides, it was airtight, with not a sliver of natural light to be seen.
The flickering candlelight danced, appearing as eerie as the human heart.
In the dim light, Jiang Qing looked stunned, while An Wuxue stood calmly by his side, waiting with infinite patience.
But beneath his sleeve, hidden in the shadows, his two fingers were already pressed together, spiritual energy silently gathering at his fingertips.
A long moment passed.
A look of realization suddenly flashed across Jiang Qing’s face, followed by a bitter smile.
“Is it that Qu Wenxin saw me helping the young Immortal Master against her that day and is now framing me, or do you truly suspect me of being the mastermind behind the North Abyss crisis and are testing me?”
An Wuxue’s brow twitched. He only said: “It seems Fellow Daoist Jiang is someone who won’t admit defeat until faced with the evidence. Must you see Qu Wenxin before you confess?”
Jiang Qing looked even more helpless: “Su Xue, I am a rogue cultivator who has always lived in the City Lord’s manor. My only interaction with the Qu family head was meeting her briefly when the Qu clan visited City Lord Shangguan or when I had business at the Qu estate. We were hardly acquaintances.”
“Compared to Qu Wenxin, the member of the Qu clan I’ve dealt with most is Little Pei, who has already severed ties with them.”
“You can think I’m lying, but cultivation cannot be faked—I was suppressed beneath the sea for many years and only broke free a few centuries ago. I am currently only at the early stage of the Tribulation-Transcending realm; where would I get the ability to do such things?”
His voice was full of helplessness, and a gentle smile remained on his face.
Even when faced with such suspicion from An Wuxue, he showed no sign of anger.
And what he said… wasn’t wrong.
An Wuxue was indeed bluffing.
Everything he had just said was a fabrication, intended only to observe the man’s reaction.
Jiang Qing asked him: “Why does Su Xue think I am related to the crisis? I don’t believe I have done anything to weigh on my conscience…”
An Wuxue studied Jiang Qing’s expression once more.
In his previous life, he had interrogated many demon cultivators and wayward immortal cultivators; he could distinguish between a frantic lie and genuine confusion.
Jiang Qing truly didn’t look like a mastermind who had just been exposed.
He finally lowered his guard slightly, his expression softening.
But he still said in a cool tone: “Have you truly hidden nothing?”
“Fellow Daoist Jiang, I appreciate that you still treat me as Su Xue, but you also know my former identity now. Do you truly think I am someone easily fooled?”
The Su Xue who was a cultivation furnace mysteriously offered to Immortal Venerable Chu Han could turn a blind eye to some things, but An Wuxue, the former First Seat of Falling Moon Peak, could not let such suspicious points pass.
He said: “Before the incident in Zhaoshui City, you went to the Cloud Sword Sect with us. At the gates, you seemed to know nothing about illusions or arrays, allowing yourself to be ambushed by a Mirror Demon and sent away from the sect grounds.”
“Yet in the Guan Ye Array, you could calculate Life and Death Gates and grasp the subtleties of the array’s mechanics, clearly showing you are an expert in arrays—this proves you were intentionally hiding your strength in Zhaoshui.”
Jiang Qing’s expression shifted slightly.
“And,” An Wuxue added, “Qu Jizhi, the creator of the Guan Ye Array, said himself that meeting someone in the array requires a great karma. Otherwise, with all the souls of North Abyss in the array, everyone would have met each other long ago. When we met, only Pei Qian was there. The karma between Pei Qian, you, and me…”
Pei Qian and Jiang Qing were merely acquaintances. By that standard, many North Abyss cultivators should have met Pei Qian, yet they only met Qu Jizhi—ordinary karma was not enough for a meeting within the array.
And the karma between him and Jiang Qing, even including the events at the Black Sea, shouldn’t have been sufficient either.
“Fellow Daoist Jiang, I truly cannot think of any karma between us that would allow for such an easy meeting within the array. Since there is none, I can only think of one other possibility: that you are one of the array’s creators and hold a guide that allows you to move freely through the illusions, and you were intentionally waiting in the illusion Pei Qian and I were destined to enter.”
He had been cautious ever since emerging from the Guan Ye Array.
Jiang Qing didn’t fully fit the profile of the mastermind—after all, he had only broken his seal a few centuries ago and a millennium ago was merely an ordinary fetal stone; he couldn’t have destroyed the Li Huo Sect.
But there were indeed inexplicable contradictions about him.
At first glance, everything seemed fine, but upon closer inspection, there were oddities everywhere.
He hardened his expression again, saying solemnly: “If you cannot provide an explanation for these things, then I shall have to take action.”
Jiang Qing looked at him, his mouth opening as if to speak yet hesitating, his eyes flickering.
He seemed to be struggling with a decision, yet his face showed no panic or fear, but rather as if he were considering something.
Spiritual energy flashed in An Wuxue’s hand.
The blade of Chun Hua reflected the candlelight as it gave a low hum.
The guarding disciples outside the secret prison sensed the spiritual energy fluctuation. Someone called out: “Master Su, has something happened with the prisoner?”
An Wuxue stared at Jiang Qing without moving, offering no response.
As he remained silent, Jiang Qing’s hesitation grew.
The secret prison isolated divine sense. Receiving no response, the guarding Falling Moon disciples called out again.
“What’s going on?”
“The spiritual energy fluctuation is wrong…”
“Should we go in and look?”
As they were about to enter.
Jiang Qing finally spoke: “I indeed have something I’ve hidden.”
An Wuxue’s gaze focused.
Only then did he call out to those outside: “It’s nothing. I am using a dharma tool for interrogation.”
The activity outside finally ceased.
Silence returned to the secret prison corridor.
The candlelight flickered from the ripple of spiritual energy released by Chun Hua, but An Wuxue stood steadily in the light and shadow.
He did not sheath his sword.
“Speak.”
Jiang Qing let out several sighs.
“Actually, ever since you asked me to come and interrogate Qu Wenxin together, I have been wondering whether to tell you this proactively. Since you’ve seen through my deception, I might as well confess…”
He produced an object from his spiritual pouch.
An Wuxue recognized it at a glance.
He had seen many such objects in his previous life, and one carved by Xie Zhefeng even hung from his own waist now.
—A Falling Moon disciple jade plate.
The difference was that the one Jiang Qing held was clearly dull and even shattered, held together only by Jiang Qing’s spiritual energy.
The owner of the jade plate was dead.
Jiang Qing said slowly: “Everyone knows I was sealed beneath the Black Sea. I won’t repeat that story. After I broke my seal, I was somewhat lost since I had only just gained consciousness. I remained at the site for a long time and discovered it was a ruin of the ancient shark race.”
“Within those ruins, I found a masterless spiritual pouch. It was very old and buried deep within the abyss; its owner must have died long ago. I was able to open it with just a bit of effort.”
“From it, I obtained some cultivation methods and array techniques, as well as this disciple jade plate. You all said I practiced quickly, but I was actually quite ashamed; I was merely following in someone else’s footsteps. It was only because of the things in that pouch that I am where I am today.”
An Wuxue stared at the shattered jade plate.
There was nearly ten feet between him and Jiang Qing. In the dim candlelight, he couldn’t see the name on it clearly.
But at a glance, he felt no sense of familiarity—it likely didn’t belong to any member of Falling Moon he knew.
He asked uncertainly: “You mean, after you broke your seal, you happened to find the inheritance of a fallen Falling Moon disciple in the heart of the shark race’s territory?”
Jiang Qing was slightly surprised: “How do you know that was the ancestral home of the ancient shark race?”
“…”
An Wuxue was momentarily speechless.
He said vaguely: “I spent many years in North Abyss and am quite familiar with its layout during the Immortal Calamity.”
Jiang Qing didn’t doubt him: “I almost forgot, you are different from me… I didn’t know what kind of place it was then, nor why there was this jade plate. I consulted records and asked around, and only then did I learn the place where I broke my seal was the shark ancestral grounds, and what I held was a Falling Moon Peak disciple jade plate.”
An Wuxue frowned.
The abyss… what Falling Moon disciple could have died there?
The Great Demon of the shark race had picked up the remains of the North Abyss Immortal Lord back then, and the North Abyss Immortal Lord had died at his Master’s hands…
Wait!
Jiang Qing seemed to notice his changed expression and said with a sigh: “You know the events of that time better than I do; you must have realized it by now, right?”
“It took me a great deal of effort and many spiritual treasures to investigate the events of that year. I even asked someone to check the Falling Moon disciple records, but we couldn’t find the owner of this plate.”
“But combining it with the history, the only possibility is that when the North Abyss Immortal Lord and Immortal Venerable Nan He fought, one of the Immortal Venerable’s possessions fell into the abyss along with the Immortal Lord’s remains, landing in the shark ancestral grounds. It was found by me when I woke and broke my seal centuries later.”
“…Master’s disciple jade plate?”
An Wuxue was stunned for a long moment.
Xie Zhefeng had ascended at a young age while his family and friends were still alive, so many people could still remember his name.
But Immortal Venerable Nan He had been an immortal for so long that the world only knew him by his title. Over time, even his own disciple didn’t know his Master’s original name.
A Falling Moon disciple jade plate that couldn’t be traced to an owner… it truly was likely to be Nan He’s.
Nan He had already been the leader of the two realms for thousands of years by then; he wouldn’t have cared if he lost his disciple plate, nor would he have gone to look for it if it fell into the Black Sea. It was indeed very likely it would be found by Jiang Qing centuries later.
Jiang Qing explained for a long time. Seeing An Wuxue’s expression finally soften, he let out a sigh of relief and smiled: “Su Xue, we could even be considered half-sect-mates.”
With such a strong karma, it wasn’t unusual for them to meet within the Guan Ye Array.
But An Wuxue was still puzzled: “Isn’t receiving my Master’s inheritance a good thing? Why were you so secretive about it that I had to draw my sword before you’d speak?”
Jiang Qing sighed again.
With a wave of his sleeve, he sent the shattered jade plate toward him.
An Wuxue caught it and instinctively read the name: “Qu Wendao—Qu…!?”
“You understand now? Immortal Venerable Nan He was a Falling Moon disciple, yet he very likely came from the Qu clan. And now that the Qu clan has led this ominous array crisis, I truly… didn’t dare speak of it.”
Jiang Qing looked at Chun Hua, which had withdrawn its killing intent, and said wistfully: “Before I knew you were An Wuxue, I heard much about First Seat An. I’ve finally seen it with my own eyes today. The master of this sword is indeed impressive.”
He was exceptionally helpless: “I thought I had hidden it well, yet you still saw through me.”
An Wuxue said nothing.
Jiang Qing’s words went in one ear and out the other as his mind was filled with thoughts about the relationship between the Qu clan and Nan He.
What he knew was even more than what Jiang Qing had said.
The Heartless Curse came from the Qu clan and had been sealed by the previous head. If his Master truly was a member of the Qu family, did that not mean the Heartless Curse was likely a technique he had created himself?
Then there was the method for finding spiritual veins. The one who hollowed out the veins was likely also using a Qu clan secret technique.
Now he was being told that Nan He likely came from the Qu clan.
Falling Moon was a major sect and the Qu clan was an esteemed family; how could both sides have no record of Nan He’s identity?
Nan He.
The Qu clan.
Qu Wendao…
An Wuxue’s brow knit together tighter and tighter as he stared at the shattered jade plate for a long time.
“Su Xue?”
He snapped back to his senses, sheathed Chun Hua, and composed himself, saying: “Fellow Daoist Jiang, I bluffed you on purpose to clear my doubts. I hope you will forgive me for my actions just now.”
Jiang Qing waved it off with a smile: “It’s fine. You were worried about the North Abyss crisis; being cautious is for the best. And since I indeed hid some things, you weren’t entirely wrong to suspect me. I was worried you would be angry with me.”
“If you feel bad about it, why not treat me to some rare immortal wine in the future?”
He neither blamed him nor acted as if it were nothing, leaving An Wuxue with an easy way to make amends.
An Wuxue also smiled, accepting the kindness.
“Naturally… but about the things you just told me—”
“Do not worry, Su Xue. I will not breathe a word of it once I leave this place. I will act as if I know nothing.”
“Thank you.”
An Wuxue tucked the jade plate into his pouch, his mind still in a daze.
He had originally intended to go in and pry some information about the Heartless Curse from Qu Wenxin, but now that the name “Qu Wendao” had appeared, and the Heartless Curse was what Master had placed on his junior brother’s soul, what Jiang Qing said had somehow become the very thing he was investigating.
He had to be careful.
He sent a sound transmission to Qu Jizhi.
Before long, Qu Jizhi entered, followed by Pei Qian.
An Wuxue was somewhat surprised.
He looked at Pei Qian: “Why are you two together?”
Pei Qian raised his hand, showing the spiritual rope on his wrist.
The other end…
was naturally still in Qu Jizhi’s hand.
An Wuxue: “…?”
“I made a bet with him. As long as I don’t cut this rope, he can’t use illusions or arrays on me.”
Jiang Qing: “…”
“Little Pei,” he whispered, “don’t you think this bet…”
leaves you on the losing end no matter what?
An Wuxue: “…”
Words fail me.