Chapter 2197 - An Invitation from Mo Yong

Clear Sky Divine Palace.

Not long after Su Yi and Tie Wenjing had left, Third Elder Ku Zhen said out of nowhere, “There’s something fishy about Xiao Jian’s origins.”

The elders’ eyebrows rose in surprise.

“Didn’t you only just investigate his background, Third Elder?” someone asked.

Ku Zhen’s blood-red eyes were cold and intense. “Based on my experience and intuition, I can say with certainty that Xiao Jian is hiding something from us!

“Rather, he has ulterior motives for joining Qingwu Divine Court.”

The elders’ expressions shifted erratically.

Sect Leader Liang Lingxu furrowed his brow, then said in a tone rife with meaning, “It really is a bit surprising that a descendant of the Torch Dragon lineage would choose to join our sect, but then... who doesn’t have a few secrets?”

Liang Lingxu looked at the third elder. “Besides, we’ve arranged for him to join Wandering Night Palace. He’ll be under your leadership, Third Elder. I trust you won’t let him get up to any trouble.”

After a moment’s silence, Ku Zhen said, “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Liang Lingxu said calmly, “We cannot falsely accuse the innocent, but we cannot let the wicked go unpunished, either. I just hope that Xiao Jian can put his talents to good use under your guidance!”

“What if I discover that something is indeed wrong with Xiao Jian?” asked Ku Zhen.

“So long as it doesn’t harm the sect, we can look the other way,” said Liang Lingxu. “But if it does harm the sect...”

He ran his fingers through his beard, then said in a low voice, “Then I’ll let you take care of it.”

“Understood!” said Ku Zhen. That was just what he’d wanted to hear!

......

Word that Xiao Jian, a yao god of the Torch Dragon lineage, had joined Qingwu Divine Court and become a deacon of Wandering Night Palace quickly spread throughout the sect.

In particular, everyone was talking about how he’d only just joined the sect, but he’d already taken up residence on Spirit Bamboo Peak.

It would have been obvious to anyone that the sect valued Xiao Jian highly!

Furthermore, Ninth Elder Tie Wenjing of the inner court had personally led Xiao Jian on a tour of the sect. Who could have failed to realize that Xiao Jian was in the ninth elder’s camp?

But there were also people just waiting to see Xiao Jian make a fool of himself.

“Just you wait. Xiao Jian’s in for it this time!”

“Why do you say that?”

Someone else explained, “Don’t forget that Vice Palace Master Mo Yong has repeatedly expressed his desire to cultivate on Spirit Bamboo Peak, but his request has never been granted. It’s long since become a sore spot for him.

“Yet now, the sect leader granted residence on Spirit Bamboo Peak to Xiao Jian. How could His Excellency Mo Yong possibly accept that?”

“But these are the sect leader’s orders, and the ninth elder is backing Xiao Jian. Surely His Excellency Mo Yong wouldn’t dare to try anything reckless?”

“His Excellency Mo Yong is backed by the grand elder! Xiao Jian is new to the sect, and he’s yet to lay down roots here. The ninth elder’s paltry authority will be nowhere near enough to protect him!”

There were thirteen inner court elders in Qingwu Divine Court.

Ninth Elder Tie Wenjing’s authority wasn’t all that high, but it wasn’t low, either.

Still, he couldn’t compare to the inner court elders who ranked in the top five, much less with Grand Elder Wei Zhong.

Moreover, Tie Wenjing was amiable and conflict-averse by nature. Everyone saw him as benign and unthreatening.

It was thus unusual for the other inner court elders to take Tie Wenjing’s opinion into account.

Even the sect disciples knew that the ninth elder’s influence was far from comparable to the other inner court elders’.

If Mo Yong, the vice palace master of Wandering Sun Palace, wanted to make trouble for Xiao Jian, Tie Wenjing wouldn’t necessarily be able to protect him!

That was how most people in Qingwu Divine Court saw it.

But many of them were disappointed to see that the conflict they anticipated never took place. Vice Palace Master Mo Yong of the Wandering Sun Palace never took a stance on the matter.

......

Time slipped by.

Soon, two weeks had passed.

Spirit Bamboo Peak was shrouded in a sea of clouds and covered in swaying bamboo. The leaves fluttered in the wind, their rustling like natural music.

Su Yi sprawled out in a bamboo chair, gazing into the distant sea of clouds between sips of wine.

Immortal cranes soared not far away, and spirit sparrows flitted through the bamboo forest.

A three-story bamboo tower stood behind him.

Everything was just that tranquil and serene.

The only thing Su Yi had to complain about was that he was currently seated in a bamboo chair, not his favorite wicker chair.

But he was already quite satisfied.

Over the past two weeks, he’d only visited Wandering Night Palace once. There, he met with the vice palace master and three other deacons.

He’d spent the rest of his time cultivating quietly on Spirit Bamboo Peak.

Under typical circumstances, Wandering Night Palace’s affairs weren’t complicated. They were even rather leisurely.

It was only when urgent problems arose that things got busy.

The palace master, Third Elder Ku Zhen, rarely appeared in Wandering Night Palace. He left everything to the vice palace master, Huang Changting.

Huang Changting was neither kind nor cold to Su Yi. He was strictly businesslike.

Su Yi had nothing to say about that.

He’d only just joined the sect, but he was already a deacon of Wandering Night Palace, and he’d taken up residence on Spirit Bamboo Peak. This had stirred up a lot of controversy in the sect. It was natural that many of his sectmates didn’t welcome him.

Vice Palace Master Huang Changting was but one of them.

After finishing his jug of wine, Su Yi rose and returned to the three-story bamboo tower to begin the day’s cultivation.

“Again?”

Su Yi sat cross-legged, his eyes shut and his expression tranquil, but his heart filled with fury.

Ever since the day he’d taken up residence on Spirit Bamboo Peak, every time he sat down to cultivate, a nigh imperceptible, inscrutable aura appeared. Someone was watching his every move!

That aura was extremely powerful, but also extremely well hidden. Not even a Fortune Realm Greater God could have sensed it, let alone an ordinary deity.

But it couldn’t escape Su Yi’s notice.

His soul power was just too immense and terrifying. It was enough to make Greater Gods ashamed of themselves.

Every time that hidden aura appeared, Su Yi sensed it immediately, but every time, he feigned ignorance.

The moment he let anything slip, the owner of that aura would notice that there was something suspicious about him!

Fortunately, that wisp of inscrutable aura lingered for ten minutes at most before vanishing each time.

Even so, Su Yi found it infuriating, and he didn’t dare focus wholeheartedly on his cultivation. He certainly didn’t use any of his true powers or legacies of the Grand Dao.

All he could do was use the power of his Torch Dragon bloodline to cautiously temper his cultivation base and slowly treat his wounds.

However, Su Yi was pleased to discover that when he cultivated in Qingwu Divine Court, he could absorb its boundless, dense air of divinity.

This was especially true on Spirit Bamboo Peak, a first-rate blessed ground for cultivation. There were a full thirty-six spirit-gathering formations on its slopes. A day spent cultivating here was worth one hundred days cultivating in the outside world!

That aside, the Qingwu Divine Mountains were connected to the Laws of the Natural Order of the surrounding area. When someone cultivated here, they could achieve twice the results for half the effort!

Why did the world’s gods long to join top cultivation factions?

Disregarding the rest, top factions’ cultivation grounds and resources were far beyond those of other factions!

Over the past two weeks, Su Yi had used up more than half of the divine medicines and resources he had on him. Combined with the nourishment of the air of divinity he’d absorbed from his surroundings, his wounds were already half healed, and his cultivation base was almost forty percent recovered! Su Yi was quite pleased with this. After all, just two weeks had passed, but he’d made this much progress!

It was late at night when Su Yi awakened from his meditation and got up.

An immortal crane flew toward him from outside the bamboo tower.

“Deacon Xiao, this is a jade slip from the sect’s Windy Cloud Palace.” The crane greeted him respectfully, then offered him a jade slip.

Windy Cloud Palace was responsible for gathering information from all across the God Domain.

Once every three days, they’d dispatch their immortal cranes to deliver jade slips full of information and recent developments worth taking note of.

Su Yi inclined his head, then snapped his fingers. A Great Profound Stage immortal pill flew toward the crane.

“Many thanks, Deacon Xiao!” The crane said with delight.

Deacon Xiao was his favorite person to deliver jade slips too, because he was extremely generous. Xiao Jian gave him immortal pills as tips every time, and Great Profound immortal pills at that!

“Quick, go on,” said Su Yi. He smiled and waved the crow away.

Then, he casually sat near the tower’s bamboo gates and perused the jade slip’s contents.

At first, Ninth Elder Tie Wenjing offered to arrange for several disciples who’d stepped into the Immortal Dao to take up residence here. That way, they could maintain Spirit Bamboo Peak and take care of other assorted trivial tasks on his behalf.

But Su Yi had refused. He preferred to live alone.

Tie Wenjing didn’t push. He just said that if Su Yi had the need for servants later on, he should go ahead and ask.

“The Three Purities Daoist Court is furious. They’ve accused the Severed Heavens Demon Court, Red Dust Demon Lands, and Donghua Sword Pavilion of slandering them. Furthermore, they say they won’t let up until they’ve gotten to the bottom of this!”

When Su Yi saw this, he couldn’t help but laugh.

The Three Purities Daoist Court would bear the blame for Niu Kui and the others’ deaths, whether they liked it or not. When you had mud smeared all over your pants, it didn’t matter whether it was really poop or not; everyone would still think you’d shat yourself.

He was already certain that conflict would break out between the Three Purities Daoist Court and the other three factions.

“That dried-up well actually appeared again...” When Su Yi saw this, his eyebrows rose.

The latest report said that the Dao-Severing Well had been spotted yet again, this time in the Southern Flame Divine Continent!

And near Spring and Autumn City at that!

This had drawn widespread attention, and none of the top factions of the Southern Flame Divine Continent had been able to remain calm. All of them had sent their forces to investigate.

The well was far too strange and sinister. Wherever it appeared, it was sure to lead to unpredictable disaster!

Forget it. I’ll search for the dried-up well later.

Su Yi shook his head.

He had a clear plan for the time being: lying low in Qingwu Divine Court. He could revisit his plans after he’d recovered his cultivation base and fully treated his wounds.

“Deacon Xiao, are you there?”

A voice suddenly emanated from the foot of the mountain, passing through the formations covering its slopes to reach the distant peak.

“Do you have business with me?” Su Yi drew his fingertip through the air, creating a curtain of light that reflected the scene at the foot of the mountain.

A tall, powerfully built man in golden robes stood there.

Su Yi vaguely recalled that he was a Wandering Sun God of Wandering Sun Palace, but Su Yi hadn’t bothered to remember the man’s name.

“I’m here to invite Deacon Xiao to Red Mist Peak on Vice Palace Master Mo Yong’s orders!” said the golden-robed man, clasping his fist in greeting.

Mo Yong!

Su Yi mulled that over.

So, that guy who’s always wanted to live on Spirit Bamboo Peak can no longer hold back, huh?