After Xue Heng returned, the three of them quickly made their way back to the sect.

Once back, they first reported the details of their mission according to sect protocol.

After they had finished, Xie Liufeng and Chu Xinghui investigated Mu Zeqing’s behavior and actions before he was released, then visited the prison again.

The initial clue that led to Biyun’s hideout was actually Mu Zeqing.

Someone had informed Mu Zeqing about this place, then lured him into kidnapping Chu Xinghui to take over his body, which led to the chain of events that followed.

Since Mu Zeqing had been in prison all this time with no strange occurrences, it meant that the people he had access to were very limited.

Among these limited people, the ones who might still be mentally sound and involved in this matter were, besides the old man Zheng, unlikely to be anyone else.

The two of them had just entered the prison when they saw Fang Yan and Ming Xiao already there.

Ming Xiao had recovered much faster than expected and was energetically assisting Fang Yan with his tasks.

When the two entered, Fang Yan immediately greeted them: “Master, Brother Chu, you came just in time.”

Without wasting any time, he pointed to an empty cell and said: “The person is gone.”

As expected, it was the cell where Old Man Zheng had been held.

Fang Yan continued: “He was still here this morning, but by the time the disciple on patrol came at noon, the cell was empty. There were no signs of the lock or the surrounding formation being disturbed… it was as if the person just disappeared.”

The Beiyue Sword Sect’s prison had always been well-guarded. To disappear so quietly, it seemed like only someone like Xie Liufeng could manage to do that.

Xie Liufeng, unaware that Fang Yan was speculating about the possibility of him being imprisoned, instead asked about someone else connected to Zheng: “What about Biyun?”

Fang Yan shook his head: “I’ve checked Biyun’s situation. There’s nothing unusual. She’s just a cloud of black mist now, unable to speak. There’s no need for any jailbreak.”

…

While Xie Liufeng was discussing the situation with Fang Yan, Chu Xinghui casually observed the surroundings and then glanced at Ming Xiao, who was eavesdropping.

Ming Xiao, noticing Chu Xinghui looking at him, asked: “What are you staring at?”

Chu Xinghui, not finding anything of particular interest around them, felt a bit bored. He walked over and struck up a casual conversation with Ming Xiao: “When did you wake up?”

Ming Xiao replied: “I woke up shortly after returning to the sect.”

“The alchemist who treated me thought I’d take a few more days to wake up,” he mused, suddenly feeling a bit proud: “…Could it be that I have a particularly strong constitution?”

Chu Xinghui, who wasn’t great at small talk, paused for a moment, then said: “Oh… you woke up pretty fast, I guess.”

Ming Xiao: “…”

He didn’t want to talk to Chu Xinghui anymore. It was just too easy to get frustrated.

Ming Xiao had just planned to distance himself from this awkward friend when Chu Xinghui suddenly reached out and grabbed him.

Ming Xiao was a bit confused: “What are you grabbing me for?”

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Chu Xinghui’s behavior was getting stranger today.

Chu Xinghui glanced around and seriously warned him: “I have this feeling that the aura of Senior Zheng is still nearby… Be careful, since you still have the mark of the sacrificial offering on you. Who knows, they might try to take over your body.”

Ming Xiao shuddered at the thought of that and froze, not daring to move.

Meanwhile, Xie Liufeng had pretty much understood the situation and called out to Chu Xinghui: “Let’s go. It’s time to find him.”

Judging by the time, Old Man Zheng couldn’t have gone far.

The moment Fang Yan realized someone had escaped, he immediately arranged for people to search the area. But still, he felt uneasy, so he stepped out of the prison to send additional reinforcements.

Chu Xinghui was about to follow along, but when he was walking beside Ming Xiao, his footsteps suddenly faltered.

He turned back and glanced into the empty prison cell.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt… like there was something inside.

Chu Xinghui didn’t act right away but extended his spiritual sense to carefully check the situation inside the cell again.

…It was indeed empty, nothing was there.

But something still felt off. He exchanged a subtle glance with Xie Liufeng.

Xie Liufeng didn’t say anything but winked at him.

Chu Xinghui left the cell, following Xie Liufeng out without showing any sign of suspicion.

After they left, the prison grew quiet once again.

With no one inside, and no need for locking the doors, the prison gate remained wide open.

After a while, the air in the prison suddenly fluctuated.

At the same time, a sword light swiftly pierced through, striking precisely at the spot where the disturbance had occurred.

The camouflage around the area was quickly shredded with that one sword strike, revealing the figure of a person who appeared to be unconscious. The person suddenly materialized in the empty cell.

It was none other than the so-called “escaped” Old Man Zheng.

The group returned to the prison.

While everyone was focused on the person who had suddenly appeared in the cell, Ming Xiao quietly slipped behind them, silently turning to flee.

Chu Xinghui had already been keeping an eye on him. The moment he made a move, Chu Xinghui immediately raised his sword and blocked his path.

Ming Xiao was baffled: “Chu Xinghui, what are you doing?”

Chu Xinghui asked: “What are you planning to do?”

Ming Xiao was in a hurry: “I just remembered something important, and I must go back to Daoyuan Peak right away.”

Chu Xinghui couldn’t be bothered with his acting anymore. He raised his eyes and said bluntly: “Senior Zheng, please come out of my friend’s body.”

Upon hearing Chu Xinghui expose his true identity: “Ming Xiao” froze in place.

His demeanor slowly changed. Despite occupying a young body, he suddenly appeared much older than before.

“The old man thought his disguise was good enough to fool you. How did you detect me? Could it be just because the time of his awakening was wrong?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t intend to engage in idle chit-chat. He simply stared at him coldly.

“Ming Xiao” chuckled and closed his eyes.

Since he had been exposed, there was no need to continue using someone else’s body.

With a loss of consciousness, Ming Xiao’s body began to fall forward.

Chu Xinghui caught him in time and quickly checked his condition, relieved that there were no serious issues. He set him aside for the moment.

His friend had really been through a lot these past couple of days—so unlucky.

The body in the prison slowly stood up, its eyes opening to look at Chu Xinghui: “Young friend, your spiritual perception is truly impressive. Even though I’ve severed my path now, I’ve practiced for many years, yet I was still detected by you. If you hadn’t practiced the sword, you would truly have been a fine candidate for Cultivator Biyun. Considering your youth, perhaps you should consider switching paths?”

Chu Xinghui politely declined: “No need.”

He had absolutely no interest in becoming a divine fraud.

Old Man Zheng observed Chu Xinghui’s state and cautiously asked: “Has what I told you earlier still been useful?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t want to engage in any more games: “No need to test me, Senior Zheng. Qin Xueyi and Mu Zeqing are dead. The remnants of Cultivator Biyun’s soul have also been recovered by us.”

After explaining, he concluded: “I haven’t been possessed, and my soul is intact. I’m afraid you’re disappointed.”

Old Man Zheng fell silent for a moment, confirming that he had understood correctly: “That Mu kid… had Qin Xueyi help him? That female cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage?”

Chu Xinghui nodded.

Old Man Zheng: “…”

He rubbed his forehead, letting out a laugh mixed with anger: “Fool, a complete fool… I told him to look for someone in the Transformation Stage, but he went after a Nascent Soul cultivator. Does he not know the difference?”

Mu Zeqing had blatantly ignored the conditions he had set. He was truly foolish.

With that, he effectively admitted that he had been the one who had informed Mu Zeqing.

Old Man Zheng looked at Chu Xinghui again, his eyes filled with an ambiguous admiration: “Young friend, you really do have great fortune. I envy you greatly.”

Chu Xinghui, who wasn’t comfortable with this cryptic way of speaking, simply asked: “Now that there’s an issue with the heavenly ladder, allowing people from the upper realms to descend to this world, is that related to you?”

Old Man Zheng’s cloudy eyes suddenly contracted.

He froze in place, staring intently at Chu Xinghui for a long time.

When he finally spoke again, the confusion and lethargy from before had completely disappeared. His voice was now cold as ice: “Where did you hear about this?”

Seeing his reaction, Chu Xinghui nodded slightly: “It was written by Cultivator Biyun, so it seems it’s true.”

It appeared that much of what was in Cultivator Biyun’s journal was indeed accurate.

Old Man Zheng sneered coldly: “I knew it… Not letting you die there really turned out to be a disaster.”

He paused for a moment before he couldn’t help but sneer again: “My little junior sister is something else. She does evil deeds, and yet she still writes journals. Truly clueless.”

Chu Xinghui furrowed his brow.

He really didn’t understand. According to the prophecy, his role was supposed to be cutting off the Heavenly Ladder in the end, and he hadn’t offended anyone. So why were this senior brother and sister constantly trying to cause trouble for him?

Old Man Zheng took a deep breath, stopped insulting people, and then turned to face everyone present, asking: “Is an unintended mistake still considered a fault?”

Fang Yan didn’t quite understand this logic: “A mistake is a mistake. What does intention or lack thereof have to do with it?”

Motives are motives, facts are facts. Just because a bad deed was done unintentionally doesn’t mean it’s not a bad deed.

He, a junior, understood this principle, so how could this old man still be going around making excuses?

The moment he spoke, Old Man Zheng glared at him: “Are you saying I was wrong? I ruined my own path, was driven out of my sect, and ended up like this just because, in my prime, I overestimated myself and tried to solve the ascension problem for this world—am I wrong?”

He suddenly looked at Chu Xinghui with a sinister expression, gritting his teeth: “My only mistake was not being a child of the Heavenly Dao, not receiving the protection of the Heavenly Dao, and yet I foolishly tried to touch those forbidden things. In the end, I couldn’t escape unscathed, and this is what I deserve.”

For the first time, he revealed the deep resentment he had hidden for hundreds of years.

He hated the elder who created the Book of Fate, hated himself for touching things he shouldn’t have, hated his lack of great fortune, which caused everything to spiral into the worst possible outcome… and so here he was today.

However, the others in the room exchanged glances and couldn’t really empathize with his resentment.

Perhaps in the beginning, one could say fate was cruel, but after all that had happened, the consequences had affected countless people, both openly and secretly. Could he truly be innocent?

Only Xie Liufeng, who had remained silent since the first sword strike, walked up and stood in front of Chu Xinghui, half-smiling: “Senior Zheng, at your age, it’s no longer suitable to keep blaming the heavens. Is it really that hard to understand? Once something has happened, it can’t be undone. Your biggest mistake wasn’t that you made a mistake, but that after making it, you chose to hide it.”

Was he treating his Dao companion like a dead man in front of him?

Old Man Zheng was struck at his weakest point, and his emotions flared: “Hide it… No! Do you think what I’m doing now? Isn’t it all to solve this problem?”

Chu Xinghui couldn’t hold it back anymore. He leaned out from behind Xie Liufeng and countered: “What exactly have you solved?”

It didn’t seem like there had been any results. On the contrary, it looked like a bunch of problems had only worsened.

Old Man Zheng glared at him, then suddenly said: “You should all know the prophecy of Biyun. Everyone here is a child of heaven, you all must want to ascend, right? Although I can’t solve the problem with the Heavenly Ladder immediately, preventing its fracture is simple—just make this young friend, Chu, die before he cuts the Heavenly Ladder.”

Chu Xinghui shook his head firmly and expressed his views clearly: “No.”

Regardless of how precious his life was, how could he agree to die without understanding the full context behind the Heavenly Ladder’s problem? How could he weigh the pros and cons?

Old Man Zheng withdrew his gaze from Chu Xinghui, sneering as though he was about to spout more cryptic nonsense.

But Chu Xinghui wasn’t interested in hearing any more vague ramblings or philosophical debates about his own journey. He cared more about the clear sequence of events. So he politely interrupted Old Man Zheng’s impassioned emotions and asked eagerly: “Hold on a moment, Senior Zheng. At this point, shouldn’t you explain what exactly you’ve done? What’s the problem with the Heavenly Ladder, and what was your plan with Cultivator Biyun?”

After all, everyone had gathered here not to hear Old Man Zheng rant about how his life had gone to waste. They were much more concerned with practical matters.

Everyone snapped back to attention and looked at Old Man Zheng with curiosity.

Indeed, understanding and resolving the problem was the most pressing matter at hand. Everything else could be settled later.

Old Man Zheng, whose emotions had been abruptly interrupted, changed his expression several times and finally snorted heavily.

Xie Liufeng took out a recording stone and pulled Chu Xinghui aside to find a place to sit.

Once everything was ready, he gestured toward Old Man Zheng politely: “Please, go ahead.”

 

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