Chapter 545 (3): Why Are You Too Afraid to Speak Up

The young woman had already erupted into sobs with her hands clasped over her face. She had thought that the immortal abode would surely be her final resting place, and the entire ordeal had been a nightmarish experience that she would never forget.

Huan Yun smiled as he advised, "Right now, you're a decent distance away from everyone else, so take this opportunity and leave this place right away. Make sure you keep the treasures that you obtained a secret once you return to Cloudtop City."

Huan Yun was naturally going to explore the area again to see if he could find any treasures that had slipped through the cracks.

Following the departure of the young pair, Huan Yun fell into a contemplative silence.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he had missed something, but he couldn't put his finger on exactly what was giving him this feeling.

The old guest elder had to have forced the young man to tell him how to open the pocket treasure. However, Huan Yun was certain that the guest elder hadn't pulled the set of immortal remains out of the pocket treasure and hidden it elsewhere, nor had he pulled out the Dao robe and hidden it somewhere on his body.

Hence, this ordeal had undoubtedly resulted in a net loss for the old guest elder. All he had received for his efforts was a stack of talismans, but he had lost his position as the head guest elder of Cloudtop City.

All of a sudden, a look of realization appeared on Huan Yun's face, followed by a wry smile.

He had finally figured out what he had been missing this entire time.

A bunch of treasures and artifacts had mysteriously gone missing from his pocket treasure, so there was a very good chance that the same thing had happened to the white jade brush pocket treasure.

What if one or both of the set of immortal remains and the Dao robe had gone missing? What would Shen Zhenze think?

With that in mind, a forlorn look appeared on Huan Yun's face.

The young man was a fine cultivation prospect, both in aptitude and temperament. It was just a pity that he had been killed by Guest Elder Xu.

Huan Yun had failed in his duty as Dao guardian and was only able to deliver a pocket treasure back to Cloudtop City.

With his mind made up, a cold look appeared in his eyes as he set off in pursuit after the young duo.

He was hoping that one of the two aforementioned treasures was still in the pocket treasure.

In any case, he would return the pocket treasure to Cloudtop City, but if there remained one of those two treasures, then he would claim it for himself.

Bai Bi departed with Gao Ling and the imperial guest elder from the Sacred Lotus Nation, and all of them were looking rather grim.

Zhan Qing had gone missing, while the guest elder of his clan had perished, and Bai Bi had a lot of explaining to do to multiple parties, namely Zhan Qing's father and Nascent Tier master, as well as the ancestral hall of the Water Dragon Sect.

Bai Bi could only hope that the treasures she had brought back with her would somewhat make up for this huge mess.

"We can kill those two," Gao Ling said.

"Indeed, we can," Bai Bi replied with a smile. "You two can split the spoils evenly."

Gao Ling condensed his voice into a line, communicating to Bai Ling in secret as he said, "His Majesty is going to ask a lot of questions, and your sect is most likely going to do the same."

"In that case, let's kill one more," Bai Bi said.

Gao Ling offered no response.

"If you do as I say, I will make you the foremost general of the Sacred Lotus Nation," Bai Bi enticed.

Gao Ling hesitated momentarily, then suddenly said, "I want to occupy a position that only a martial artist can occupy, one that Qi refiners would be unable to take from me. If I can gain such a position, then you'll have unmatched control over not just the Sacred Lotus Nation, but perhaps even the Celestial Water Nation and the Northern Pavilion Nation as well."

"You have a pretty big appetite, but I think you have the wherewithal to back up your ambitions," Bai Bi replied with a smile.

In the next instant, the Sacred Lotus Nation guest elder was decapitated out of nowhere by a punch from Gao Ling, while Bai Bi's expression remained completely unchanged as she immediately incinerated the body into ashes.

With the dust finally beginning to settle, it appeared that the Rainbow Sparrow Residence had been the biggest winner in all of this.

All three of their cultivators were alive and well, and they had claimed more than their fair share of treasures and fated opportunities.

"That old man that appeared at the top of the scroll twice, he's not going to come and target our Rainbow Sparrow Residence, is he?" Wu Qun suddenly asked.

She had managed to identify Chen Ping'an thanks to his Dao robe.

"I don't think that's a concern," Sun Qing replied with a smile. "No friend of Liu Jinglong's would be so unscrupulous."

Wu Qun's concerns were not assuaged.

At this point, Sun Qing had had a chance to take a close look at the Daoist book and the badge, and while the exact value of the former was still unclear to her, she had managed to identify the latter as a minimization treasure, something that was normally reserved only for cultivators of the Upper Five Tiers.

Following this ordeal, Wu Qun no longer trusted anyone other than Sun Qing and Liu Guibao.

Ultimately, what she no longer had trust in was the state of the world and humanity as a whole.

The reason why her distrust for everyone ran so deep was because a thought had arisen deep within her heart, one that she found both terrifying and shameful. She had posed a question to herself: if she possessed the same powers as Chen Ping'an, would she be able to resist the temptation of killing Sun Qing and Liu Guibao to take their fated opportunities?

She didn't know the answer to that question, and she didn't dare to think too much about it.

————

Deep in a deserted area in the mountains, Chen Ping'an concealed the caisson ceiling at the bottom of a pond.

From there, he took off all of his Dao robes in exchange for normal robes, and he hoisted his trusty bamboo case onto his back with only four bags inside.

After walking for a few kilometers, he discovered a familiar figure standing on a tall branch on a tree beside the mountain path. The man had a giant bag on his back, and it was none other than Huang Shi.

"I know it's you," Huang Shi said with a smile.

"And yet you chose not to run away?" Chen Ping'an asked.

"Honestly, I don't really even understand it myself, but for some reason, after leaving that strange place, I feel safer and more at ease with you, Brother Chen," Huang Shi replied with a smile.

At this point, Huang Shi had already lost all confidence in his ability to assess the cultivation bases of those around him. The only thing that he still had some modicum of confidence in was his ability to tell a good person from a bad one.

"Just stay out of my way, and let's go our separate paths," Chen Ping'an said. "We're both very fortunate to have come out of that place alive, and we shouldn't push our luck any further."

Huang Shi adjusted the enormous bag on his back, then said, "You're clearly an expert at this, given all the ways you have to disguise yourself and your cultivation base. Unfortunately, I'm nowhere near as competent. Bai Bi and Gao Ling may come after me at some point, and with all these treasures that I'm carrying, there's a pretty good chance I won't make it out ‌of the Northern Pavilion Nation alive."

"You were talking about revenge earlier. What's that about?" Chen Ping'an asked.

"Back in my youth, I was very reckless and hot-headed, and I'll admit that I did something wrong. However, instead of punishing

me

for my transgressions, my enemies went after my family. They killed every single member of my family, over forty people, including the women, the children, and the elderly, and all of them were skinned before having their skins swapped with one another, just to further desecrate their bodies."

Huang Shi retold this harrowing story with a tone of complete detachment and indifference, as if he were only relaying a story that he had heard about someone else.

It was often the case that after experiencing true pain, one would no longer yell and scream and display the reactions expected of them. Instead, they would go quiet and become more withdrawn, almost as if they were numb to it all.

Chen Ping'an remained silent.

"Regardless of who you are, you seem more trustworthy than the others to me," Huang Shi continued. "I've been pushing my luck this entire time, and it's paid off so far, so why not push it a little further and go all-in one final time? I'm willing to sell the majority of the treasures in my bag to you for immortal coins so I can save up for a Militarian armor pellet. Of course, I'm not going to be able to afford a suit of Divine Dewbearing Armor.

“Instead, I'll just have to settle for a suit of Golden Crow Armor. After that, I'll buy a Dao saber that I've had my eyes on for quite some time, and from there, I'll finally be able to do something that I should've done a long time ago."

Chen Ping'an pulled several Stele Carrying Talismans out of his sleeve, then tossed them at Huang Shi as he said, "These talismans will allow you to conceal your aura. As a Vajra Body Tier martial artist, you'll be able to make even better use of them than most. As long as you're careful and only travel at night, these should be enough to allow you to sneak out of the Northern Pavilion Nation."

A look of surprise and caution appeared on Huang Shi's face, and he didn't immediately reach out for the talismans. Back in the immortal abode, this was the same tactic that he had used to lure Chen Ping'an forward before punching him in the face.

Of course, at the time, he had been trying to determine whether Chen Ping'an was hiding his power.

Only when the talismans had drifted a safe distance away from Chen Ping'an did Huang Shi finally draw them into his grasp, and after a brief silence, he asked, "Why are you doing this? What do you stand to gain?"

At this point, Chen Ping'an had already departed, and he replied, "I just want to live in a world where all of us dare to speak and act against the injustices that we witness."

It was a very casual and nonchalant response from Chen Ping'an, but even for a ruthless and cold-hearted martial artist like Huang Shi, he was shaken to the core, and his grip unconsciously tightened around the talismans in his hand.

After taking a deep breath, he wiped a hand over his own face, then suddenly called, "Please wait a moment, Brother Chen."

"What more do you want from me?" Chen Ping'an snapped as he turned around with a furious expression. "I barely have any talismans left myself! I'm just a hard-working traveling salesman who has to earn his money one snowflake coin at a time, just like everyone else!

“Do I look like some type of philanthropist to you? How dare you try and ask for more? Have you no shame? Have you forgotten what you did to me earlier? That punch had me seeing stars! You should count yourself fortunate that I'm letting it slide!"

Huang Shi briefly considered changing his mind, but in the end, he shook his head with a wry smile before undoing one corner of his bag and pulling out three items from inside, all of which he tossed at Chen Ping'an as he said, "I wouldn't count myself as a good person at all, but I'm also not a fan of owing favors to others."

The furious look on Chen Ping'an's face immediately turned to a gleeful smile, and he accepted the three items before placing them into his bamboo case, then proposed that the two of them sit down over some wine to discuss some business.

Huang Shi immediately rejected his proposal.

"Now that I have these talismans, I have no interest in doing any business with you. Given how shrewd and stingy you are, I'll surely be the one to come off second-best."

"You're far too kind in your appraisal of my business acumen," Chen Ping'an said with a humble smile, and with that, the two of them parted ways.

"Can you tell me your name? Is that too much to ask?" Huang Shi suddenly asked.

"Not at all," Chen Ping'an replied without even turning his head. "My name is Chen Haoren."

Huang Shi could only roll his eyes in exasperation.

Chen Haoren my arse!

However, he had to admit that Chen Ping'an really was a good person.

All of a sudden, Chen Ping'an turned back around and rustled two thick stacks of talismans out of his sleeves with a serious expression as he said, "Before you go, I actually have some more offensive talismans here, all of which are exceptional value for money. You should..."

Huang Shi had already plastered a Stele Carrying Talisman to his own body, and before Chen Ping'an had a chance to finish, he gave Chen Ping'an the middle finger before departing.

"It seems like everyone's too smart to take the bait nowadays," Chen Ping'an sighed with a disappointed shake of his head.

————

As Chen Ping'an made his way out of the mountains, he suddenly looked up right as a young man and a young woman abruptly flew out of the nearby undergrowth, seemingly in a real hurry, and in the blink of an eye, they had vanished out of sight.

They were none other than Shen Zhenze's two direct disciples.

The reason they were in such a hurry was because the young man had a really bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Earlier, after the pocket treasure had been returned to him by Huan Yun, he had briefly inspected its contents to discover that it only contained several treasures that were completely unfamiliar to him. He presumed that these were treasures that Guest Elder Xu had gathered in the immortal abode, but the all-important Dao robe and immortal body were nowhere to be found.

Huan Yun had told them that Guest Elder Xu was already dead. Was it possible that he had forced Guest Elder Xu to tell him how to open the pocket treasure, following which he had claimed those two priceless treasures for himself?

In that case, why had Huan Yun returned the pocket treasure to him? Was it because he was confident that the young man wouldn't dare to tell his master about the two missing treasures?

The young man couldn't figure out Huan Yun's intentions, but a seed of suspicion had been planted in his heart, and it left him doubting everything.

The same applied to Huan Yun as well.

In reality, both of them were good and intelligent people. Even though there had been a brief period of time in which Huan Yun had been tempted to kill the young duo and steal their treasures, he had ultimately chosen not to go against his own conscience.

However, in the end, all of that was for nought, and he had ultimately succumbed to his more nefarious urges.

It didn't take long for Huan Yun to catch up to the young pair, and he descended upon them with a cold expression as he asked, "What's the mantra required to open the pocket treasure?"

The young man immediately positioned himself in front of his female companion to shield her as he asked, "Why ask a question you already know the answer to?"

"Why would I ask you if I already knew?" Huan Yun snapped.

"How am I supposed to know what unfathomable immortals like you are thinking?" the young man asked with a wry smile.

Huan Yun gave the young pair a recount of what had happened.

The young man was rather taken aback, and he asked, "In that case, why are you asking me for the mantra to open the pocket treasure?"

"I want you to understand why you're going to be killed here," Huan Yun replied.

"We can defect from Cloudtop City and cultivate under you in exchange for our lives," the young man said.

Huan Yun took a glance at the female companion behind the young man, then said in an expressionless manner, "You have to prove yourself first."

"Ha! Some spiritual master you are, Huan Yun!" the young man scoffed with a derisive expression as he spat disdainfully onto the ground. "You're even worse than all those vagrant cultivators!"

All of a sudden, a small dagger was plunged into the young man's back from behind, and he stumbled forward before slowly turning around with a dazed expression.

His female companion had already sprung back several dozen feet and was trembling with a guilt-ridden expression.

"Very good," Huan Yun praised with a pleased smile.

The severely wounded young man stared at his guilt-ridden companion as tears began streaming down his face, but there was no anger or resentment in his eyes, only disappointment and sympathy.

"There's no point! He's using you! Both of us still have to die here, anyway."

"You've always been the smarter one of the two," Huan Yun chuckled, then turned to a certain direction as he asked, "Why're you hiding, fellow cultivator? You clearly plan to intervene, so why not show yourself?"

Chen Ping'an emerged from behind a tree, then took a glance at the young woman, whose guilt and remorse were slowly morphing into hatred and rage.

Thankfully, he had arrived in time before the young man met his demise.

Chen Ping'an turned his gaze to Huan Yun as he greeted, "Fancy meeting you here."