Lingyu found clothes in a farmer’s house and threw a wild boar he hunted in the mountains into the farmer’s yard. He put the clothes on and continued to head towards Spirit Sect with Fu Zhu.
News of Lingyu’s return spread like wildfire as soon as he approached Spirit Sect’s gates.
Chang Sheng was the first to rush over. He just looked at Lingyu while tearing up. “It’s good as long as you’ve returned.”
Lian Hua also cried loudly. He beat Lingyu and accused, “You heartless little thing. Gege was so kind to you before, but you just had to run away from home without even telling me anything.”
Lingyu’s eyes teared up, and he almost cried.
He didn’t cry when he bitterly defended Youshan to the death and was almost buried by the waves of evil spirits. He also didn’t cry when he asked Chang Sheng for help but received no response. When Cangdi Fenglang betrayed him and tried to kill him, he only felt angry and disappointed.
However, at this time, only a few words made him tear up. Lingyu lowered his head and wiped his tears. “I didn’t want to either. Someone plotted against me.”
“Who’s the bastard who dared to plot against you?” Lian Hua rolled up his sleeves and said angrily, “Tell Shixiong. Shixiong will catch that bastard and give him a violent beating!”
Lingyu was just about to say it was Cangdi Fenglang, when he suddenly saw a young man behind Chang Sheng.
“Shixiong, you’re finally back. We were so worried these days.” Cangdi Fenglang rushed up with his face full of worry. He took Lingyu’s hand and said, “If you didn’t return, I wouldn’t even know what to do anymore.”
Lingyu was stunned and immediately threw off Cangdi Fenglang’s hand in disgust, glaring at him with hatred. “You damn culprit, don’t put on an act here; get away from me!”
As soon as he said this, everyone present was stunned.
“Lingyu, why is your temper still like this?” Lian Hua grabbed Lingyu’s body and persuaded, “Even if you don’t like Little Lang, you can still see how he worried and feared for your wellbeing everyday during your disappearance. He went out to search for traces of you everyday. Looking at his actions, don’t let your temper explode for the time being.”
“Shixiong, I… What did I do wrong?” Cangdi Fenglang’s face looked blank and innocent. He looked like he was about to cry.
Lingyu felt angry enough to cough up blood, but the blood seemed stuck in his throat.
He glared at Cangdi Fenglang, whose expressions and physical reactions looked entirely innocent. Lingyu bit his lower lip, resisted the urge to immediately give him a violent beating, and coldly curled his lips. “Good, you really are good. Truly, you’ve been so good to me!”
Cangdi Fenglang hid behind Chang Sheng.
Chang Sheng looked at Lingyu’s clothes. “Let’s head inside first and inform Master of this matter. We can talk about other things later.”
Cang Rong, however, suggested, “I think we’d better hide Lingyu away first, or else someone will charge through our door and look for Lingyu’s trouble in a few days.”
But Yan Tianhen’s eyes always remained on Cangdi Fenglang. He frowned. “Who in the world is this boy?”
Lin Xuanzhi thought carefully and guessed, “He should be the real Fenglang. Moreover, the person who assassinated you in Youshan wasn’t him. At that time, I had already found Fenglang — he was together with Dao Zu, so he couldn’t have possibly gone to look for your trouble.”
Yan Tianhen hesitated. “So, that person disguised himself as Fenglang to attack me, and then framed Fenglang?”
Lin Xuanzhi nodded. “Indeed, that person should be Sheng Ren.”
Yan Tianhen frowned. “But why would Sheng Ren do such a thing? Sowing dissension and wantonly harming others — what good would it bring him?”
Lin Xuanzhi said, “I’ll probably never understand this kind of person’s thoughts.”
Yan Tianhen felt the same way. “Me too.”
Lingyu’s return to Spirit Sect was a great joy for Spirit Sect. But behind this joy, there were countless turbulent dark waves.
As Cang Rong said, when Lingyu returned to Spirit Sect alive and intact, many elders from other sects and even sect leaders visited him personally.
They were called visits, but in reality, they were interrogations.
“My grandson went to guard Youshan along with you, but why is it that in the end, you’re the only survivor, but my poor grandson doesn’t even have an intact corpse?”
“Earlier, your Master clearly said that you were dead, but after such a long period of time, you suddenly returned alive. This isn’t one of Spirit Sect’s schemes, is it?”
“If they’re all dead, then I have nothing to say. However, since you returned alive, I must ask for an explanation!”
Lingyu couldn’t bear their accusations, so he became more reticent and withdrawn.
But it was not only this matter that made him more withdrawn, but also because no one believed that Cangdi Fenglang was the one who really harmed him.
“Master,” Lingyu said, “I can swear to Heaven that I’m not lying. The person who pushed me down the mountain is Cangdi Fenglang!”
Dao Zu just rubbed Lingyu’s head. “You remembered wrong. That person can’t possibly be Fenglang. Lingyu. I know you don’t like Fenglang, but what’s right and wrong can’t be changed by people’s feelings. Don’t take it for granted.”
Lingyu was extremely miserable.
He went back to his yard and stretched out his hand to touch the blooming flowers. However, when his hand touched the petals, the beautiful flowers that had been in full bloom for ten years withered in an instant, stunning Lingyu.
He realized that he was no longer his former self.
He didn’t understand why nobody believed the truth he told. He also didn’t know who to confide in about his newfound identity as an evil Qi cultivator that everyone wanted to exterminate.
In the whole Spirit Sect, it seemed that he could no longer find a trustworthy person.
Spirit Sect was not peaceful. Because the Heaven’s Wail over Youshan hadn’t been completely resolved yet, Chang Sheng made frequent trips outside with Fenglang everyday, and Lian Hua and Xi He also traveled among various sects everyday.
Firstly, they wanted to create an alliance to fight against the evil Qi cultivators hidden in the Nine Lands, and secondly, they wanted to secretly investigate whether any evil Qi cultivators had infiltrated those sects. However, no one suspected that there was something wrong with Spirit Sect.
After all, all the Spirit Sect disciples gathered together everyday, so they could easily detect any changes that happened to someone.
And Lingyu had indeed changed a great deal.
Lian Hua was worried. “Little Yu has become withdrawn since he came back. I don’t know what’s going on. Just how much did he suffer?”
“Yeah.” Xi He also nodded. “He doesn’t even practice as often anymore. He locks himself up in his room every day and doesn’t come out, even when I call him. Sometimes I really want to rush in and drag him out.”
Cang Rong thought deeply. “It would be best if Chang Sheng talks to him. After all, Chang Sheng is Lingyu’s sweetheart, so his words will always be more effective than ours.”
Lian Hua almost couldn’t help rolling his eyes. “But Eldest Shixiong is unreliable ah. He knows that Lingyu doesn’t like Fenglang, yet he still brings Fenglang wherever he goes. If I were Lingyu, I would be angry too.”
“Fenglang should be going out to gain experience.” Cang Rong didn’t see anything wrong with this. “Moreover, this should be on Dao Zu’s orders. Chang Sheng naturally won’t disobey.”
Lingyu locked himself in the room for longer and longer, until everyone almost forgot his existence and even became accustomed to his disappearance.
Chang Sheng took Cangdi Fenglang and traveled outside for a long time.
During this period, several more families in the Nine Lands were destroyed by evil Qi cultivators. The frightening Heaven’s Wail over Youshan expanded and spread even further, until it had already covered the entire Southeast Land. It seemed like it might even advance towards the other Lands. People in the Nine Lands were terrified, and their crusade and hatred of evil Qi cultivators increased day by day.
Until one day, Sheng Ren left secluded cultivation.
Sheng Ren had been in closed-door cultivation for a long time. Ever since he sacrificed Lian Hua, he and Dao Zu no longer got together as often as they did before.
After all, once people become estranged, their relationship would never be able to go back, even if they were biological brothers.
This was the first time that Sheng Ren voluntarily came to see Dao Zu.
Sheng Ren gazed at Dao Zu with blazing eyes. “Elder Brother, do you still believe that Cangdi Fenglang is a good person?”
Dao Zu’s face was full of exhaustion. Although his elegant face looked young, he seemed to have aged decades overnight, and his face was full of the vicissitudes of life.
Last night, he witnessed Cangdi Fenglang quietly get up after sleeping for a long time and turn into a mass of evil Qi at a speed impossible for human beings.
Cangdi Fenglang reached a small village surrounded by evil Qi within the boundaries of Spirit Sect. Without hesitation, he efficiently slaughtered the innocent people who were still sleeping, and then turned them into evil spirits.
Dao Zu cast a spell on Cangdi Fenglang so that he’d immediately notice if Cangdi Fenglang made any abnormal moves. Therefore, Dao Zu promptly rushed to the village.
However, after fighting Cangdi Fenglang, he realized that he was at a disadvantage in the battle. None of his Daoist techniques had any effect on this evil Qi cultivator.
He was no match for an evil Qi cultivator.
Dao Zu could only watch his little apprentice harvest lives like an unfeeling killing machine.
The present Dao Zu looked up at Sheng Ren. “Why do you know this?”
Sheng Ren replied nonchalantly, “You’re not the only one who suspects that Cangdi Fenglang is stirring up trouble. I suspect the same thing.”
Dao Zu asked, “You were also there yesterday night?”
Sheng Ren said, “I was.”
Dao Zu asked, “Why didn’t you come forward to save those people?”
Sheng Ren smiled. “Only evil Qi cultivators can kill other evil Qi cultivators. You and I have already learned this kind of thing a long time ago in the Boundless World. Why should I waste my energy?”
Dao Zu was silent.
Sheng Ren continued, “Elder Brother, I’ve long said that you would’ve been better off not accepting those disciples. They all cause so much trouble, especially Lingyu and Cangdi Fenglang — I don’t need to say anything about Cangdi Fenglang, but don’t tell me you don’t know what Lingyu has become? Shixiong, only evil Qi cultivators can kill other evil Qi cultivators. Don’t be confused anymore. If you can’t kill it now when it’s still young, when it grows up, it’ll be too late for regret.”
