Proofreader: Papatonks
[Come again?]
Taken aback, Zhuo Fan looked at him stunned, “What did I just hear? You want to replace Xie Wuyue? What kind of High Venerable are you? In the sect’s time of inner turmoil, you’re not only not helping Sect Leader stop it, but even want to replace him. What do you think rules even are?”
“That’s rich, hearing about rules from you.”
Elder Yuan rolled his eyes, but then he found something off and raised an eyebrow, “Zhuo Fan, what’s going on? Weren’t you planning an uprising? Why criticize me for not following the sect rules? You’re the one who started this whole mess!”
Ugh!
Zhuo Fan scratched his nose and nodded, “True, but so what? My stance is clear, but Elder Yuan, as the sect’s High Venerable, your standing made me doubt your intentions.”
“Ha-ha-ha, I get it now.”
Elder Yuan laughed, “Fine, since you think that as a High Venerable I had to crush you, why then were you willing to meet me alone? Weren’t you scared I’d take you out to end all the trouble?”
Zhuo Fan’s face hardened, “Elder Yuan, I did think about it, and even knew the chances were high for such an outcome. But I still wished to believe that our friendship meant something and you’d have another way.”
“What other way do you think I had? Go on, tell me.” Elder Yuan’s eyes shone.
Zhuo Fan stared into Elder Yuan’s eyes as he probed, “With your status as High Venerable, you can just resolve the conflict by revealing everything. At worst, I’ll be cast out, ending all trouble…”
“In your dreams.”
Elder Yuan scoffed and shouted, “Kid, you’re truly despicable. Everything is because of you and now you want to wipe your hands off of this? What about all the elders and venerables who have your back till death? Is this how you treat them?”
Zhuo Fan’s heart sank and shook his head.
[I just knew something like this can’t fool Elder Yuan.]
Pointing at the door, Elder Yuan said in a cold tone, “If it weren’t for this, they’d all carry their duty, working for the betterment of the sect. But you dragged them to a war with Mystical Heaven Sect and sullied them. Hell, it’s not a stretch to call them yours now. Then you stirred in them their rebellious side, saying they’ll die otherwise and making them sink into their desires. Now that they have this thinking, you think it’ll be that easy to get them to stand down with mere words?”
“To top it all off, they plan on having their leader get power so they would get some as well. You saw how they reacted when Fiend Yang tried to so hard to smooth things over. They’re dead set on fighting, their hearts in turmoil. This is no longer a matter of Xie Wuyue and you coming to a peaceful resolution, but about that mob wanting to get everything they wished for, more power. They want to elevate themselves through your high position.”
“You know this as well. I could step in and mediate it, stopping the fighting, but it will only delay things. First there’s Xie Wuyue’s pettiness who won’t stand them for long and then there’s the Labor Office’s elders and venerables who I bet can’t sit still for even a couple of days before chaos ensues again. At that point you’d be thousands of miles away, leaving Demon Scheming Sect to kill itself on the inside. Was that your plan, Zhuo Fan?”
“Uhm…”
Zhuo Fan’s heart sank but did not reply. He turned to Chu Qingcheng and sent her a message, “Qingcheng, how come he’s such a relic yet not one bit like a senile old coot should be? He’s trying to tie us down.”
“Demon Scheming Sect’s High Venerable is impressive indeed, like the rumors paint him. But is it true, did you know all about what he just said?” Chu Qingcheng nodded and raised an eyebrow as she sent her reply.
Zhuo Fan nodded, “Close enough, every sect in western lands is twisted and filled with secrets. I wanted to take you to a safe place to live our lives. I even tried using Fiend Yang’s chance he created to get over this mess and just withdraw. How was I supposed to know Venerable Bai and the rest had a severe change of heart, dead set on wanting a coup and becoming the next ministers. Their desires were fanned even more with Xie Wuyue’s anger. So you can imagine that when I leave the sect, Xie Wuyue and the Labor Office will be at odds, devolving into mutual annihilation like Elder Yuan said.”
“That’s the same as lighting the fuse and scampering off. Isn’t that unethical?”
“Why should I care? I only used them to save you. Now that you’re safe, they can drown the place in blood for all I care as long as we’re miles away.”
“Brute, you’re just too evil. Even after all they did to help you…” Glaring hard at Zhuo Fan, Chu Qingcheng cursed him, but she was smiling as she said it.
Elder Yuan sat there with a twitching mouth, “Hello~, I’m talking to you. So stop with the whispering. Have a little respect for an old man.”
“Oh, Elder Yuan, but making me Sect Leader won’t be against the rules? Besides, not everyone wants me on the chair. Won’t a fight broke out either way?”
Zhuo Fan shook at Elder Yuan’s words then cupped his hands as he spoke.
Elder Yuan gave a vague smile, “This is where you’re wrong. With you at the helm, there’ll be no more fighting. First of all, more than half of the elders follow your every command. Becoming Sect Leader is what they want. As for Venerable Shi, ha-ha-ha, he’s just a stubborn opportunist. He only cares for himself. He doesn’t care who among the two of you is the Sect Leader, and would even less fight to the death for Xie Wuyue. The fact he wanted to bolt proved it. He just wants to save his strength.
“A guy like that in the sect would find the power of being a minister after they pushed you on your seat to be a good choice as well. Since you already beat Tianyu’s imperial faction and brought peace to the nation, you’re quite the expert in ruling.”
“Uhm, Elder Yuan, it’s not about ruling here, but Qingcheng and I…”
Zhuo Fan wanted to object but Elder Yuan raised his hand to stop him, “You caused this mess, you fix it. You crushed people’s view of Xie Wuyue, forcing him to be confrontational and unable to maintain his position. Once you leave again, the Demon Scheming Sect will be divided. You can’t go. You’re to blame for Xie Wuyue’s eroded power and now must take responsibility!”
Zhuo Fan sighed and nodded.
“As for the sect rules, ha-ha-ha, weren’t you asking me of my stance? I’ll tell you. I am on Demon Scheming Sect’s bright future. Some stiff old rules mean nothing. As long as it favors the sect, any rule can be scratched out. Fraternizing is no exception.”
Elder Yuan looked hard at Zhuo Fan then his eyes glimmered, “Zhuo Fan, I know you don’t care about the sect, not even about the Labor Office, but I just heard you call yourself Demon Scheming Sect disciple, that the sect is your home. I know it was only an excuse, that you still can’t wait to leave. But this old man hopes that the next time you say it, it will be from your heart.”
Shaking, Zhuo Fan spoke, “I have never considered any place my home, unless it has people I care about.”
“That’s human nature.” Elder Yuan chuckled and nodded, “In any case, you can’t escape becoming Sect Leader. You can go now.”
Zhuo Fan nodded and took Chu Qingcheng out after bowing at Elder Yuan. The old man then stopped them before reaching the door, “Wait.”
“What is it, Elder Yuan?” Zhuo Fan looked back.
Elder Yuan’s hand flashed and took out a jade slip, throwing it to Zhuo Fan.
Zhuo Fan looked puzzled.
Elder Yuan sighed, “This contains an art I came to discover after all my insights into the heart over the years. To someone like you who aspires towards Dao, it will be beneficial.”
“True Self Art?”
Elder Yuan nodded, “Yes, the True Self Art! A human comes from primal chaos, and being true, he never masked his emotions. But as the years came and went, this truth became blurry. However, cultivators, both demonic and righteous, all must return to Dao, to find their true natures. But this new truth, does it form a cycle with the true nature from inception, or is it enlightenment? If it’s a cycle, why then do cultivators train for years and years, only to return to their true selves?
“I never managed to find an answer no matter how I looked. That’s how I discovered this art. It’s not an amazing cultivation method, but it can help a cultivator achieve peace of mind and remove a heart demon’s interference.”
[Remove a demon heart’s interference?]
Zhuo Fan was shocked inside, gripping the jade slip with a shaking hand.
Cultivators dreaded heart demons. The lightest halted one’s progress while the serious ones were damning. With this art was a gem, able to avoid all of that!
He never would’ve guest Elder Yuan, a mortal domain cultivator, would have such deep insight. It went to show that one can achieve greatness regardless of what path they took.
[The old man isn’t as strong as the ancient emperors, but a true wise man of life.]
Zhuo Fan held Elder Yuan in even more regard…
