Xi Ju Hai shook. Yes, ascension … Thinking of that, she suddenly felt that she had realized something they had overlooked before. She reached over and grabbed Mu Qing’s arm, staring at him intently. “Ah Qing, you think clearly, what stage is your Master at now?”
Mu Qing looked at her oddly but his expression immediately turned solemn. He couldn’t judge his Master’s level accurately since his own cultivation was lower but … “The current Sect Master of the Wu Yun Sect is at the peak of the nascent soul stage and has been for years. I’ve seen how he treats my Master. Based on that, I think my Master left the nascent soul stage behind.”
“So he’s indeed in the demigod stage.” Xi Ju Hai nodded, the bad feeling in her gut getting worse. “For how long?”
Mu Qing shook his head. “I wouldn’t know. He has kept a lot of things from me. This guess is also just based on my own observation. I would suppose that it should have happened after he left the Teng Yong Sect though. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been a way to reliably hide it.”
Yes, reaching a new cultivation realm came with tribulation lightning and the difference between which realm you reached was palpable. In fact, you could see it with your own eyes even at a large distance as long as you counted the number of lightning strikes. So if his Master truly reached the demigod stage … that wouldn’t be kept a secret for long.
Xi Ju Hai nodded. “He might have done so in a hidden realm but he would have needed to vanish for a long time and keep that secret in the Teng Yong Sect …” She shook her head. She knew their Elders. They were all a gossipy bunch. And who wouldn’t gossip about such big news?
With each realm, it was more difficult to transcend it. In a sect like theirs, there were still many who could reach the nascent soul stage but few who made it to its peak and there was only a person or two every few generations who were able to go past that and actually reach the demigod stage. If there were signs that somebody had broken through to that realm, the whole cultivation world would be in an uproar. Keeping that quiet was almost impossible.
Xi Ju Hai tightly furrowed her brows. “If this is true, then he should be in the early stage of the demigod realm still. Even if the Wu Yun Sect and the rest of the demonic sects they allied with help out, advancing further in such a realm is difficult.”
Mu Qing nodded. “True. Although …” His own brows furrowed as well and he turned to look toward the north. “You have seen what the border region has become. We tried using all that spiritual energy and distributing it to the elite disciples of the sects as was planned but it didn’t work. Still, the energy was already bundled up. If he used that …”
Xi Ju Hai nodded and patted her fiance’s arm. “This is what I have been thinking: What if he never intended to help the rest of the sects? What if he doesn’t want to use that plan of his to make the demonic sects as a whole stronger but only the Wu Yun Sect or … only himself?”
Mu Qing’s expression blanked. He thought of his Master who had always pursued absolute power and always chastised him and the other disciples for not living up to his expectations. In his mind, strength was the only thing you should pursue, and … this was a prime opportunity.
Mu Qing gulped, not sure what to say. She was right. He knew she was right. As soon as Xi Ju Hai had said the words, he could feel it in his heart: His Master indeed didn’t intend to help anyone but himself. The big plan of strengthening the elite of the demonic faction … that had only been a ruse because he needed these people to do tasks for him so his plan could succeed. In the end though, he’d be the only one to profit.
For a while, neither of them said a word. Finally, Mu Qing rubbed his forehead. He felt … weary. All these years had been given to his Master, wanting to repay a kindness that might have never happened. In turn, his Master had never taken him into consideration. But then, he had considered nobody but himself.
That alone should be proof that everything from beginning to end had been part of his plan, right? If he had had a strong enough constitution, his Master would have stopped at him. He would have asked him to help with his cultivation by following this plan without needing to take all these extra steps. If this was the case, so many deaths could have been prevented.
“I never should have followed him. When I realized the truth, I should have ended it. It’s better to lose my cultivation or even my life than to have anything to do with this kind of person.”
Xi Ju Hai didn’t respond to that. Her own opinion of Feng Bai Xiao was so low, she really didn’t have anything nice to say right now so, she’d rather keep quiet. Mu Qing’s current mood should be complicated enough.
She did, however, continue to think about the plan that was about to come to fruition. “He still needs the disciples of the demonic sects for now but that will change as soon as everything has been set in motion. At that time, what do you think he’ll do?”
Mu Qing was pulled out of his thoughts and sighed. “Knowing him? He’d get rid of the problem. He can’t risk being exposed. If the righteous side attacks, he’ll let them kill them. Otherwise, he’ll do it himself and then put it on their heads. This way, he escapes strengthened, with the little reputation he has intact, and everyone else pointing fingers at one another while he can just continue on his own path. It’s maddening if you think about it.”
Xi Ju Hai shook. Yes, ascension … Thinking of that, she suddenly felt that she had realized something they had overlooked before. She reached over and grabbed Mu Qing’s arm, staring at him intently. “Ah Qing, you think clearly, what stage is your Master at now?”
Mu Qing looked at her oddly but his expression immediately turned solemn. He couldn’t judge his Master’s level accurately since his own cultivation was lower but … “The current Sect Master of the Wu Yun Sect is at the peak of the nascent soul stage and has been for years. I’ve seen how he treats my Master. Based on that, I think my Master left the nascent soul stage behind.”
“So he’s indeed in the demigod stage.” Xi Ju Hai nodded, the bad feeling in her gut getting worse. “For how long?”
Mu Qing shook his head. “I wouldn’t know. He has kept a lot of things from me. This guess is also just based on my own observation. I would suppose that it should have happened after he left the Teng Yong Sect though. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been a way to reliably hide it.”
Yes, reaching a new cultivation realm came with tribulation lightning and the difference between which realm you reached was palpable. In fact, you could see it with your own eyes even at a large distance as long as you counted the number of lightning strikes. So if his Master truly reached the demigod stage … that wouldn’t be kept a secret for long.
Xi Ju Hai nodded. “He might have done so in a hidden realm but he would have needed to vanish for a long time and keep that secret in the Teng Yong Sect …” She shook her head. She knew their Elders. They were all a gossipy bunch. And who wouldn’t gossip about such big news?
With each realm, it was more difficult to transcend it. In a sect like theirs, there were still many who could reach the nascent soul stage but few who made it to its peak and there was only a person or two every few generations who were able to go past that and actually reach the demigod stage. If there were signs that somebody had broken through to that realm, the whole cultivation world would be in an uproar. Keeping that quiet was almost impossible.
Xi Ju Hai tightly furrowed her brows. “If this is true, then he should be in the early stage of the demigod realm still. Even if the Wu Yun Sect and the rest of the demonic sects they allied with help out, advancing further in such a realm is difficult.”
Mu Qing nodded. “True. Although …” His own brows furrowed as well and he turned to look toward the north. “You have seen what the border region has become. We tried using all that spiritual energy and distributing it to the elite disciples of the sects as was planned but it didn’t work. Still, the energy was already bundled up. If he used that …”
Xi Ju Hai nodded and patted her fiance’s arm. “This is what I have been thinking: What if he never intended to help the rest of the sects? What if he doesn’t want to use that plan of his to make the demonic sects as a whole stronger but only the Wu Yun Sect or … only himself?”
Mu Qing’s expression blanked. He thought of his Master who had always pursued absolute power and always chastised him and the other disciples for not living up to his expectations. In his mind, strength was the only thing you should pursue, and … this was a prime opportunity.
Mu Qing gulped, not sure what to say. She was right. He knew she was right. As soon as Xi Ju Hai had said the words, he could feel it in his heart: His Master indeed didn’t intend to help anyone but himself. The big plan of strengthening the elite of the demonic faction … that had only been a ruse because he needed these people to do tasks for him so his plan could succeed. In the end though, he’d be the only one to profit.
For a while, neither of them said a word. Finally, Mu Qing rubbed his forehead. He felt … weary. All these years had been given to his Master, wanting to repay a kindness that might have never happened. In turn, his Master had never taken him into consideration. But then, he had considered nobody but himself.
That alone should be proof that everything from beginning to end had been part of his plan, right? If he had had a strong enough constitution, his Master would have stopped at him. He would have asked him to help with his cultivation by following this plan without needing to take all these extra steps. If this was the case, so many deaths could have been prevented.
“I never should have followed him. When I realized the truth, I should have ended it. It’s better to lose my cultivation or even my life than to have anything to do with this kind of person.”
Xi Ju Hai didn’t respond to that. Her own opinion of Feng Bai Xiao was so low, she really didn’t have anything nice to say right now so, she’d rather keep quiet. Mu Qing’s current mood should be complicated enough.
She did, however, continue to think about the plan that was about to come to fruition. “He still needs the disciples of the demonic sects for now but that will change as soon as everything has been set in motion. At that time, what do you think he’ll do?”
Mu Qing was pulled out of his thoughts and sighed. “Knowing him? He’d get rid of the problem. He can’t risk being exposed. If the righteous side attacks, he’ll let them kill them. Otherwise, he’ll do it himself and then put it on their heads. This way, he escapes strengthened, with the little reputation he has intact, and everyone else pointing fingers at one another while he can just continue on his own path. It’s maddening if you think about it.”
