Chapter 208 – Five Sources, Nine Ancestors, Return to the True Self; Four Lotuses as One; Innate Shadow Blood - Part 1

The Holy Tree Temple was one of the major powers in the Central Plains. It commanded countless subordinate sects, each one easily on par with the Blood Blade Sect in terms of strength. As a result, the Holy Tree Temple had become deeply entangled in the affairs of the Central Plains yet managed to remain firmly standing among the great forces.

Above even the Holy Tree Temple stood certain mysterious factions that seemed detached from the mortal world. At the very least, based on his theory of how this world’s power structure operated, Li Yuan suspected that beyond the five major powers of the Holy Tree Temple, Mystic Gold Monastery, Sacred Fire Palace, Moon Reflection Tower, and Mountain Hall, there had to exist an even higher-level organization, something along the lines of a

Five Elements Sect

or

Five Elements Alliance

.

“The deputy temple master of the Holy Tree Temple is Gu Xuejian. She’s a practical woman...forthright, direct, and bold in her decisions but prone to high-risk strategies. Only she would think of hiding out here. Most likely, she wants to avoid directly deploying the Holy Tree Temple’s resources while investigating the Red Lotus Rebels and undying husks,” Yan Mu recalled, describing the deputy temple master he knew.

Li Yuan gave him a curious look. “Does that mean there are moles for the Red Lotus Rebels hidden within your Holy Tree Temple?”

Yan Mu shook his head. “I’m not sure, and I wouldn’t dare ask. It’s not something you can just poke around in. But I have a feeling there probably are. After all, the Red Lotus Cult isn’t as simple as it appears.”

Li Yuan thought for a moment, then spoke. “So, you’re suggesting that there’s some larger power backing the Red Lotus Rebels from behind the scenes?”

All of a sudden, Yan Mu said, “I once saw a black lotus.”

Li Yuan blinked. “But the Red Lotus Cult would never allow their

lotus

to turn black. Where did you see it?”

Yan Mu scratched his head and recounted, “It was during a major battle in the Jade Capital, back when we were hunting down the Red Lotus Rebels. We drove them back and naturally wanted to wipe them out. At the critical juncture of our pursuit, we were stopped at a place called Sweethome. That’s where I saw the black lotus.

“Sweethome was just a small village on the outskirts. From the outside, it looked completely normal; you could even see villagers walking around as usual. But once our group entered, something felt off. A few of our men started shouting that their bodies were itchy. As soon as they scratched—”

He paused, recalling the grisly scene. “The ones who touched their faces ended up wiping off their noses, eyes, and lips. Those who scratched their arms basically tore their limbs right off, and their whole bodies seemed to melt away.

“We panicked, thinking we’d run into ghosts, and hurried back to report. The elder leading us at the time was Elder Qing. After observing for a while, Elder Qing concluded it wasn’t ghosts but a poison formation—one so potent it sealed the sky and the earth, meaning we had no way through without taking a long detour.

“But if we detoured, we’d lose track of our target. Besides, the Red Lotus Rebels had clearly fled through Sweethome, and it was obvious someone there was working with them, providing cover. So Elder Qing tried to break the formation, but no matter what he did, it wouldn’t yield. More reinforcements from other factions arrived, but none of them could break it either. Many days passed like this.

“In the end, the formation lifted on its own, and by then the entire village had been corroded and melted by the poison. Those

villagers

we saw walking around had already died long before; it was only that the bizarre toxicity somehow kept their bodies moving as if they were still alive.

“After the poison formation was undone, our people stationed nearby returned and reported that a black lotus had bloomed in the melted ruins of Sweethome.”

Li Yuan frowned. “They’d already wiped out everyone, so why would they leave behind a single black lotus?”

Yan Mu let out a sigh. “Uncle, any force with this kind of power must have a reason. Maybe the black lotus was a real flower to begin with, used as the core of that poison formation. Or maybe it was a warning telling us to stop pursuing them. Or perhaps it was just how the formation naturally ended, a final manifestation that wasn’t deliberately planted. There are countless possibilities...”

At that, Li Yuan suddenly remembered what Liu Changchong of the Orange Blossom Sect had once told him. Back in his youth, Liu Changchong had gone to observe a life chronicle at a higher-level sect and had accidentally seen black petals there.

[1]

Black petals...a black lotus? A secretive faction so mysterious that people entered blindfolded... They all used poison. Could it really be coincidence?

The thought flickered through Li Yuan’s mind. He then said, “So, Deputy Gu isn’t just here to eradicate the Red Lotus Rebels; she’s also looking for the hidden power behind them. And if she led an official force from the Holy Tree Temple, any spy in the ranks would be instantly alerted. That’s why she wants to move quietly, relying on help from outside the Holy Tree Temple to gather intelligence. That way, any moles who might be compromised won’t tip them off.”

Yan Mu shrugged. “I’m just an inner disciple, so I have no idea what her real intentions are.”

Following Gu Xuejian’s likely line of thinking, Li Yuan nodded. “In that case, you probably shouldn’t have told me about her identity, should you? She’s trying to keep a low profile, using another identity to investigate these Red Lotus Rebels.”

Yan Mu sighed and admitted openly, “True enough. Deputy Gu wrote in her letter that I should keep her identity a secret. But we also can’t let her meet Sheng’er under any circumstances. So I had no choice but to come rushing over to you, Uncle, and you’re the only one I’ve told.”

Li Yuan stared at him, somewhat speechless. Finally, he just patted Yan Mu on the shoulder and said, “All right, all right... Good job.”

Yan Mu said, “Uncle, please don’t give us away.”

Li Yuan replied, “So you want me to play dumb even though I know exactly how powerful she is? To act like she’s nobody special...no deference or intimidation in my tone or expression, like we’re just chatting casually, right?”

Yan Mu scratched his head. It seemed difficult, especially since someone like Gu Xuejian would undoubtedly be extremely perceptive. He couldn’t help asking, “Then what should we do?”

Li Yuan considered a moment. “Then I’ll just avoid meeting her.”

“But she knows you’re the Blood Blade Patriarch,” Yan Mu said. “She’s heard you have information about the area. She’ll definitely come looking for you.”

Li Yuan drew a deep breath. “What’s her cover story?”

“She’s pretending to be my older sister.”

“That would make her my niece, a whole generation below. Try again.”

“My maternal aunt?”

[2]

Li Yuan lifted a foot as if to give Yan Mu a swift kick. Yan Mu burst out laughing and took off running. Seeing that hearty laugh on the face of this otherwise serious young man, Li Yuan realized he was being teased. He pointed at Yan Mu from a distance. “You little punk...”

Yan Mu just shouted back, “She'll just be my

senior,

plain and simple!”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

The next day.

Li Yuan prepared to send Sheng'er into hiding in the black market ghost domain. Worried she’d be bored there, he approached Tang Nian and asked if she’d accompany Sheng'er for a while. He didn’t insist, merely mentioned it offhand; to his surprise, Tang Nian agreed without hesitation.

In that way, Tang Nian became only the third person besides Xue Ning and Sheng'er to know of the circumstances surrounding the black market ghost domain.

Eager to shake off her rust and realign her mindset, Tang Nian packed a large trunk filled with demonic beast hearts of various ranks—all of which could be openly purchased with gold or silver—a few ready-made puppet frameworks, plus her special

flame blade

for carving. She planned to work on crafting some puppets inside the ghost domain.

Li Yuan also bought a large supply of food to bring along. After seeing that the two girls more or less got along, he took his leave.

1. Refer to Chapter 144 - A Strange Black-Market Underworld, Uniting the Power of Three Counties - Part 3. ☜

2. Yan Yu is Yan Mu's maternal aunt. Li Yuan married Yan Yu. So Yan Mu is making a joke that Li Yuan should marry the deputy temple master, Gu Xuejian. I was debating if I should write the explanation of the joke into the story, but then this is purposefully a

whoosh

thing by the author. Leave a comment saying whether you got the joke or not without the footnote!

☜