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Translator: SilverNeko

Editor: Dancing Dolphins Yo!

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Wen RenMu fell backwards onto the ground like an antelope that was drugged. Wen Jing squatted down and then kindly applied a sleeping spell as well. This way, he wouldn’t wake up for ten days to half a month.  

Wen Jing lowered his head and pulled up Wen RenMu’s body. His gaze happened to sweep past the jade being held tightly in his hand, and his heart instantly skipped a beat. 

Something wasn’t right.

He forcibly pried open Wen RenMu’s right hand. Lying on his palm was a piece of jade about three inches long. It was smooth and glossy under the moonlight. There didn’t seem to be anything special about it. However, if one looked closely, it seemed to be shimmering. It was a hard to come by top-grade jade.

Wen Jing was very familiar with the shape and appearance of this jade. It was identical to the two in his storage bag.

It was the jade that had the ending and next volume outline of《A Calamity for All Living Things》!

Wen Jing held the jade in his hand and quickly sent some spiritual Qi into it. Not long after, a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead. His current cultivation level was vastly different from before; however, his spiritual Qi was blocked outside the jade, wandering around it and unable to enter.

In other words, the cultivation of the person who made this jade was higher than Wen Jing by a good deal, and they had set a restriction spell on it, not allowing people other than its intended recipient to look inside.

However, this piece of jade had yet to be opened. Thus, its intended recipient shouldn’t be Wen RenMu. He likely picked it up somewhere. 

Wen Jing lowered his head and thought for a while before unceremoniously putting away the jade. This concerned the original novel, so he couldn’t be careless. It was better to keep it on him. 

He swung Wen RenMu over his shoulder and then arbitrarily found a cave, tied him up, and locked him in before setting up a very sturdy barrier.

Wen Jing thought, You either don’t do it at all, or you do it until the end. I have already tied Wen RenMu up tightly like a zongzi and stolen his jade. I might as well go clean up his house.

If you’re going to be a bad person, be as bad as you can. If you’re going to send a buddha, send them until they reach the west. Since we are doomed to be enemies, I should completely offend him.

At twilight, a silent shadow disappeared in front of the entrance to Wen RenMu’s house on Tian Heng peak.

Closing the door behind him, Wen Jing opened his mouth, wordlessly looking around.

Liu QianMo was the eldest disciple of Hui Shi peak. His status was high, so the specifications, layout, decoration, and size of his house were only second to the peak lord. This was a rule of the Qing Xu Sword sect that had been around for a long time. When the peak lord was in seclusion, unless they had specifically ordered otherwise, the eldest disciple would act as their stand-in and be in charge of all the affairs of the peak. Therefore, their monthly allowance and the amount of authority they had were very different. Liu QianMo’s taste was pretty good. He basically didn’t have anything expensive and valuable, yet he could still organize his house stylishly.

However, Liu QianMo’s house now looked like the bedroom of a granny living in the countryside. Although it felt a bit homely, it was completely overshadowed by Wen RenMu’s quaint, elegant furnishings and decorations.

The elegance and beauty of Wen RenMu’s house were bought by spirit stones.

Spirit herbs that were no less than three hundred years old were placed on the window ledge and the table, its fragrance lingering. If a mortal inhaled a few mouthfuls, they could lengthen their lifespan. The table, chairs, and other furnishings were all made out of the wood of an ancient tree over one thousand years old. They contained spiritual Qi and would cost at least a few thousand or more. In the cabinet, which was the same color, were spirit stones of unusual shape and rare Yao beast bones. If any one of them was taken out and sold, it could be sold for a few hundred to over a thousand spirit stones.

These things were all protected by a spell. If a disciple with a low cultivation level wanted to steal, even if they didn’t die, they would at least lose half their life. People with higher cultivation levels than Wen RenMu had cultivation levels around that of peak lords. They naturally didn’t covet such things. No one would ask about it even if they were randomly placed outside. 

Wen Jing didn’t lack spirit stones right now. These things that looked nice but weren’t useful couldn’t attract his interest either. He rummaged through Wen RenMu’s house for a while and found a dozen or so Golden Core stage talismans, two weapons, and a few YuHe pills. He carefully studied them. 

A wave of spiritual Qi floated over from afar.

A disciple stopped in front of the door. “Is shixiong there? Shifu has ordered something.”

Wen Jing deliberated. If he pretended to not be here, that disciple would definitely go everywhere to look for Wen RenMu. Sooner or later, he’d find that Wen RenMu had disappeared, and Wen RenMu loved to secretly snitch on people. It would definitely cause a lot of trouble for him. It was better to deal with this disciple now.

He took out a transformation pill and swallowed it. His thoughts moved, and the sound of Wen RenMu’s voice and his smile appeared in his mind. His appearance gradually changed.

He reasoned. This disciple was already in the Foundation Building stage, and his voice wasn’t polite or respectful; instead, it was casual, as if he often talked to him. His position in Tian Heng peak probably wasn’t low, and he definitely was very familiar with Wen RenMu. If he met with him face to face, he would probably reveal flaws. It was better to deal with him and send him away from inside the room.

He put up a front, acting as if he was high above others and looked down on everything, and then responded in a slightly indifferent voice. “I am feeling a bit uncomfortable, so I won’t open the door. What did shifu order?”

That disciple, who was outside the door, replied, “Shifu said that he was going to temporarily stay at Yu Rong peak for a few days and ordered shixiong to temporarily take care of the affairs of the peak.”

Wen Jing asked, “The sect head is leaving the sect?”

That disciple’s voice contained some doubt, “Every year at this time, the sect head would leave for a few days to pay his respects to his family and ancestors and let shifu manage all the affairs, large and small, of the sword sect in his stead. How come shixiong has forgotten?”

Wen Jing felt that it was a bit strange. Xi Fang came from a large cultivation clan. Within the clan, they held a large ceremony to pay respects to the ancestors every ten years. The occasion was quite grand and magnificent, but normally, no one would go to pay respects. Xi Fang’s parents and brothers had already been dead for a few hundred years, and he didn’t have a wife or children. He would have never guessed that he cared so much about his family.

He, however, couldn’t talk carelessly. Quickly covering up his blunder, he said, “These few days, when I was cultivating, I encountered some problems, so my head hurts greatly. I’ve even forgotten about this. I need a few days to meditate and clear my thoughts. Help me manage the peak for now; order the shidis to not come and disrupt me. Once I’m a bit better, I’ll come to find you.”

That disciple was quiet for a while before saying, “I understand. It’s good for shixiong to take a good rest. There are so many fish in the sea. Don’t get too hung up, shixiong.”

Wen Jing didn’t know about the incident Wen RenMu had caused three years ago and was immediately stunned. What did this mean? He fell in love?

However, he didn’t dare to open his mouth and ask, so he could only bluff his way through, “You’re right. There are so many shidis in Tian Heng peak waiting for me to give pointers to. I can’t only think about one person.”

That disciple outside the door was silent for a long time before he finally said, “What shixiong means by giving pointers to the shidis……” After talking for a bit, he somewhat awkwardly said, “Forget it. I understand. Rest assured. We have been shixiong and shidi for so long. No matter what you become like, I will stand by your side.”

In Wen Jing’s impression, Wen RenMu was a straight man who couldn’t be any straighter. Not only was he engaged, he even messed around in private. He would never have guessed that he was rumored to like men.

He thought, The more we talk, the more absurd this conversation is becoming. He quickly said, “Then that’s good! You can go ahead. In the future, when we are free, we can also give pointers to each other.”

These words were originally only polite and perfunctory words. Who knew that the person outside the door would fall silent for a long time once again before saying, “……Shixiong, have a good rest. About that, allow me to consider it.”

“……Take your time considering.” Wen Jing wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.

Having not met in three years, he seemed to have a generation gap with everyone now.

As soon as that disciple left, Wen Jing hugged the dozen or so talismans and the two weapons close to his chest and slipped away as if there was oil on the bottom of his feet. It would probably take another dozen or so days before Wen RenMu got found. By then, he would’ve already left the Qing Xu Sword sect for many days. 

He then transformed into an ordinary appearance and passed through mountain after mountain in a low-key manner, not attracting anyone’s attention, before arriving at Xun Yang city, the closest city to the Xun Yang mountain range.

He stopped at Xun Yang city for a day and bought some daily necessities. Then he started to think about how to find Jun YanZhi.

Since something happened at the Red Maple sect, Jun YanZhi might not be far from there. Why not go there to investigate?

Small wounds appeared on the bodies of the Red Maple sect disciples, bleeding nonstop until they dried up. According to the very superficial knowledge of demonic cultivation mentioned in the next volume, this should have been done by a blood cultivator with very high cultivation. 

Demonic cultivators were divided into three types: blood cultivators, Qi cultivators, and spirit cultivators. Each had their own method of cultivation. They all harmed others to benefit themselves, though, thus causing the methods to be quite controversial and receive a lot of criticism. Jun YanZhi was a spirit cultivator and was good at controlling people’s minds and heart devils. It was unlikely that he would go out of his way to practice bloodletting and blood-sucking techniques. 

It was useless to overthink right now. He should go and check out the situation first!

Once he made up his mind, he immediately acted upon it without any hesitation. It was as if there was wind under his feet. He didn’t eat or sleep as he hurried over. A journey that should’ve taken over ten days was completed in only eight.

As soon as he arrived at LinFeng city, he heard something big.

That day, he stood by the entrance to the most lively tea house in LinFeng city while covered in dust. Inside, everyone was extremely heated and huddled together noisily.

“Have you heard? Sui Rang said that the《Five Elements Returning Sword Method》is in Li QingRan’s hands!”

“What?! In his hands?!”

“That’s really unfortunate!”

“How could it be in his hands?”

“Who knows what will happen to LinFeng city now……” That voice was filled with worry.

“What is the《Five Elements Returning Sword Method》?” A youth who wasn’t very old was a bit curious.

“You don’t even know this? Two years ago, Jun YanZhi announced that this sword method was the inheritance of his Heng Yang palace. Such an important thing has to be returned to its original owner. Now, if anyone has it, they have to quickly offer it up with both hands with their net worth. Otherwise, he will slowly, leisurely kill them. Kill everyone in the five great sects.”

“When had Jun YanZhi not been killing people? Two years ago, when he was killing people at Gu Jing sect, he was caught in the act. His face and his whole body were covered in the blood of the dead disciples. He was almost captured by sect head Xi.” 

“In the past when he killed, he didn’t find any excuses. Now when he’s killing, he’s finding excuses. That’s the only difference.”

“Who’s Sui Rang, and who’s Li QingRan?”

“It’s very obvious that you’re not from here. You don’t even know Sui Rang and Li QingRan. They are disciples of the large cultivation clans of LinFeng city and are training under the teaching of the Red Maple sect. This time when the Red Maple sect had encountered danger, it must’ve scared Sui Rang. Yesterday, when he was drinking wine, he leaked that the《Five Elements Returning Sword Method》 happened to be bought by Li QingRan a few years ago.”

“How did Li QingRan just happen to buy that inheritance?”

“Who knows? I’m just afraid that Jun YanZhi will be unhappy and end LinFeng city.”

Wen Jing slowly walked in, quietly sat in a corner, and called out to the waiter who was currently listening nervously, “Waiter, a pot of tea.”

The waiter didn’t hear and asked back, “Where did Li QingRan go? He shouldn’t hide and not see anyone. Every instance has a perpetrator, and every debt has a creditor. If Jun YanZhi wants to kill, then he should kill him.” 

“Who knows? His manor has been barren and desolate since this morning. Not a single person is there anymore.”

The crowd of people instantly exploded.

“He left as soon as things came out?! Then what should we do?”

“Which is to say, Jun YanZhi might come to LinFeng city at any time?”

“Originally, it was only said that he was incompatible, like fire and water, with the five great sects. Now, us common people are getting implicated too?”

An old man over sixty stroked his beard and said, “Let’s not panic first. These are the grudges and struggles of them cultivators. It won’t necessarily involve us mortal people.”

Wen Jing said once again, “Waiter, tea.”

The waiter waved his hands, annoyed, “What tea? Even our lives aren’t safe right now.”

Wen Jing raised his eyebrow, thinking that those words made some sense. He glanced around. The neighboring seat was empty, but a teapot and a teacup were sitting on the table, still giving off steam. He thought, That person had already left anyway, so he simply stretched out his hand, took the teacup, and used the tea in the teapot to wash it. Pouring himself a cup of tea, he continued to listen to those people talk loudly.

Jun YanZhi threatening the five great sects was pure nonsense. He was mostly framed by someone. The《Thunder Sword Method》in Wen Jing’s room was gone, most likely taken by Jun YanZhi. Since he already had the inheritance, why would he ask people to return his《Five Elements Returning Sword Method》for no reason?

The incident at the Red Maple sect was probably also part of the plan to frame him. However, Wen Jing couldn’t guess the details and specifics of the situation.

He drank all the tea in the teacup in one breath and then picked up the teapot and poured another cup.

Not far from him, a man was slowly walking over. He didn’t have any cultivation, and his appearance was ordinary, blending in with the crowd in the tea house. He indifferently glanced over Wen Jing. However, he found that his teacup was currently being held in his hands. From time to time, he was even placing it by his mouth and taking big gulps. He slightly frowned, showing a bit of displeasure, as he turned around in the lively crowd of people and slowly walked out with his head lowered.

Not long after he walked out, he specifically picked small streets and alleys to traverse through, walking in a roundabout manner, before coming to a shabby inn. He lowered his head and walked in, quietly walking into an old, run-down and small room.

Even though the bed released creaking sounds as soon as he sat down, he didn’t care. He pulled a big tortoise from a storage bag. The big tortoise seemed to be a bit restless today. Its black bean-like eyes were opened wide, and its four legs were randomly kicking.

The man’s voice didn’t have any inflections as he quietly said, “I have already said it before. He’s dead. It’s useless, no matter how hard you look.”

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Footnotes:

If you’re going to send a buddha, send them until they reach the west: This is based on a popular show called Journey to the West (西遊記) The story is about sending this one monk to the west to get books from the buddha, so it’s basically just another way of saying don’t do things half-heartedly. There are also novels and multiple different versions filmed, but it’s super popular, and almost every person who grew up in a Chinese household has watched it at least once in my experience. 

Clans vs sects: There might be confusion here, but clans are generally made up of one large family with all extended family members as well, and they also recruit people from outside the clan sometimes. Sects, on the other hand, are generally larger in scale, and the people there have no family ties most of the time. They mainly rely on master and disciple ties as well as ties between disciples. They are very similar, but there is a difference.

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Tn: Hi hi! This chapter was over the 6000 word mark, so it was cut in half. Enjoy the suffering, hahahaha. Just kidding. I wanted to try doing all 6000 at once, but I’ve just been so busy with my first final next Friday and my last final the Friday after that… T_T Spread out finals means that I have more time to study, but it also means that my suffering will last longer. 

Anyway, I will be taking a break for the next two weeks. Sorry about this cliffhangerish place that this update ended on. I’ll try to get another chapter out next week, but no promises. No matter what, updates start again May 26th. ^^

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