Chapter 112: The Same as Going to the Burning Heaven Sect?

“Consulting the divine is…” Yuan Qingling prided himself on not having been a sect leader all these years for nothing. Although the Hidden Moon Sword Sect was a minor sect, he knew quite a bit. If the leader were truly an impostor, she wouldn't have risen to that position, nor would she have seized the opportunity to scavenge from the Xuanyun Sect.

Though in the end, the one who got picked up was himself.

The phrase "consulting the divine" was something he had never heard before.

“Does this have anything to do with my master?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Ai Fengling replied, a trace of confusion in his eyes.

Yuan Qingling suspected he was being misled. “Uncle Master borrowed the Golden Crow from my master, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t you know?”

“I don’t know what’s right or wrong,” Ai Fengling smiled bitterly. “That deity does not wish to see mortal beings suffer, and neither do we. So some matters must be asked of her—what would she do if she were in our place?”

“You mean this world…” At that moment, Yuan Qingling suddenly thought of the demons that had escaped the Illusory Realm and the faction of demon saintesses stirring trouble near the sect. “The demon clan will eventually return to the world and sweep across the mortal realm, won’t they?”

“Yes. Sister has suffered greatly. The fate of the three of us should not rest on her alone.”

“Yours, and also…”

“Three sword cultivators from the Seven Peaks, and one magic cultivator.”

“The magic cultivator is that Uncle Song who’s obsessed with formation diagrams? The sword cultivators are you, and who else? Great Uncle?”

“Your mountain’s great uncle,” Ai Fengling said, then laughed as if recalling something. “Back then, their relationship was nothing like the hostility it is now. In fact, I was the one with the worse temper. Your mountain’s great uncle used to be good at winning your master’s favor.”

“Then why…”

“Because of me.”

“Hm?”

“I should have died, but your master risked everything to save me. Since then, she has borne my fate. Your mountain’s great uncle has cherished your master since childhood, but the two have always been at odds. This is the knot in your great uncle’s heart, but sister has forgotten the memory of saving me.”

“Like what happened at the Burning Heaven Gate?”

As the saying goes, the bystander sees clearly while the one involved is lost. That was exactly the case now.

When Yuan Qingling said this, Ai Fengling’s usually colorless eyes flickered with emotion. He slowly lifted his head. “Tonight, just tonight, this must be done properly.”

“Uncle, you wouldn’t harm master, would you?”

“No.”

“I believe you,” Yuan Qingling nodded solemnly. “After this is done, I’ll go find master.”

“That’s how it should be,” Ai Fengling said.

“Hey! I heard Burning Heaven Gate is a taboo for your Xuanyun Sect. Do you really believe that cripple’s words?”

“Like you care!” Yuan Qingling had come to understand his temper over these days. He tapped the Golden Crow’s forehead. “How many times have I told you, that’s my master. If you keep this up…”

“Then just throw me out! Don’t give me such a strong demonic aura! I know,” the Golden Crow sulked. “I’m telling you, you Xuanyun cultivators love keeping secrets, all of you are so annoying.”

“I’m a Xuanyun cultivator too.”

“That’s why I find you annoying!” The Golden Crow snorted coldly. “Really, so annoying.”

“Quiet,” Yuan Qingling covered his mouth, and they both rolled into the grass.

For the Xuanyun Sect, Burning Heaven Gate was a special place. Most families maintained their ancestral halls with care, but this one was completely abandoned. Occasionally, a peak master might remember and send someone to check on it.

But tonight, there were quite a few uninvited guests.

Yuan Qingling was neither the first nor the last to arrive.

“Why is it like this here?” someone whispered using their mind method, a human and a demon together. “I usually fly by and never see any Xuanyun cultivators here. Why is it so lively tonight? That cripple must have called you here to die, right?”

Yuan Qingling said nothing. Though he looked like a child, his mindset was far more mature than the little demon before him. “To watch the show.”

“Fine, watch then. Why the scowl?” the Golden Crow retorted.

There were no lights in front of Burning Heaven Gate, but guards stood watch. These figures wore black robes, their faces obscured.

Yuan Qingling had been on the mountain for some time and was familiar with the outer and inner courts of several peaks. He had never seen anyone dressed like this on this mountain, especially at night, making the group all the more unusual.

“Found it?” someone inside called out, and those outside responded.

“No, it disappeared.”

“Disappeared? How can it just disappear?”

“How should I know? It’s existed for over ten thousand years; one moment it’s here, the next it’s gone.”

“That’s the clan leader. Who could take her away?”

“Unless…” one person said cautiously, as if frightened by their own guess, “Unless she left willingly.”

“She, the clan leader, has been dead for over a thousand years. How could it be? How could it be…”

“Move quickly!” a watchful voice warned from the shadows. “Looks like someone’s coming.”

“Clean up.”

The group numbered only five or six, small in stature, and they dispersed quickly. They seemed very familiar with the Xuanyun Sect’s terrain.

Yuan Qingling couldn’t help but think of the demon cultivators who had once sneaked into the Ten-Thousand-Foot Peak to abduct Qiao Yu. These people had probably long been lurking within the Xuanyun Sect, quietly carrying out orders from the demon clan.

“Let’s go!”

“Quiet, didn’t you hear someone coming?” Yuan Qingling shouted angrily.

The visitor was someone he knew well—his great uncle.

Huo Yongfei held a handful of incense and candles. After a brief visit, he came out carefully closing the door behind him. He treated this place—a convergence of ancestors and descendants—with great reverence.

Just as Yuan Qingling was about to leave, another person arrived. Shan Hongxing, seemingly unaware of Huo Yongfei’s visit, stood at the door as if he sensed something. “Demons?”

Yuan Qingling was momentarily stunned by the voice. Shan Hongxing had been on the path to promotion ever since his master praised his “durable sword,” and everyone expected him to ascend, but he never did.

Shan Hongxing pushed the door open, wandered around, then slowly returned. “Little Five, you really can’t do this alone.”

Yuan Qingling lay still in the grass, not daring to move. Branches shielded him from view, but he felt exposed, as if caught in Shan Hongxing’s gaze. How long this stalemate lasted, he didn’t know, but finally Shan Hongxing left.

“Go in,” Yuan Qingling said, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. “Wait outside for me. If anything goes wrong, turn into an ordinary crow and come find me.”

“Okay.” The Golden Crow wanted to go in with him but, subdued by Yuan Qingling’s authority, he stayed outside. “Remember, demonic aura—I want to absorb plenty.”

“Suit yourself!” Yuan Qingling thought, “You treat me like a father, so you do whatever you want.”

Without much effort, Yuan Qingling soon found Wen Jinge’s longevity talisman. This was his first time seeing someone else’s talisman.

The jade talisman already showed a slight crack, and a small chip at the bottom had been mended by a high-level spell, as if to hold together a jade piece on the verge of shattering.