Chapter 188 : The Sword Sect Must Give Me an Explanation

Chapter 188: The Sword Sect Must Give Me an Explanation

In the dense forest, everyone stood frozen in place.

Only Han Shuangjiang, watching Chu Huaixu destroy his sword spirit, showed no hint of surprise in her heart.

She had actually seen a similar scene before.

Back then, when Liu Tianfeng and Liu Chengqi had made things difficult for the two of them, Chu Huaixu had slapped Liu Chengqi right in front of Steward Liu.

『That dead fox has always been like this—vengeful to the extreme,』 she thought.

She had always felt that in some respects, Chu Huaixu was much better than she was.

He was more unrestrained than her, as if his entire cultivation path was centered around just those four words—let go of obsessions!

Clearly, if he couldn’t deliver the punishment himself, he would feel unbearably uncomfortable.

He had always been that kind of person, and never once changed.

But in truth, those four words—let go of obsessions—might seem simple, but were extraordinarily difficult to embody.

Because letting go of obsessions, from a certain angle, was also a form of “doing whatever one pleases.”

Even so, at this moment, she couldn’t shake off a vague feeling of living in a different lifetime.

She hadn’t expected Steward Liu would actually die here today.

That made her recall that day, after Chu Huaixu had slapped Liu Chengqi. When she showed difficulty accepting that a Dao Gate steward could have such a disgraceful face, he had said:

“In human nature, there’s always complexity and contradiction.”

Chu Huaixu had always believed that people were not purely black or white. The vast majority were gray. Just that some people were lightly gray, and others deeply gray.

At this moment, Zhao Qianfeng, whose sea of consciousness was already injured, fainted again after being slapped awake twice by Chu Huaixu and having his life-bound sword spirit destroyed.

This man—even if the Sword Sect doesn’t punish him severely, he’s basically crippled for life.

Mo Qingmei watched Chu Huaixu’s actions and could only think: “Still just a youth after all.”

She was well aware that this young man was simply playing word games.

He had said no private punishment could be done to Zhao’s body—so he punished the sword instead.

But these so-called word games were just toeing the line. If one truly wanted to nitpick, of course it could be nitpicked.

『But that’s how the young are—not like those of us at this age, always cautious and overthinking.』 Mo Qingmei mused.

Seeing the scene before her now, she certainly felt a bit vindicated.

What she didn’t know was—Chu Huaixu didn’t care at all.

──“Who dares to nitpick with me?”

Yes, playing word games was indeed toeing the line.

But whether or not one could play them well—depended on... who was playing!

Chu Huaixu, as the Xuanhuang Champion, was about to enter the 【Origin Spirit Realm】.

The 【Heaven-and-Earth Calamity】, the karmic entanglements of all beings—he bore them on his shoulders alone!

And your Sword Sect disciple actually tried to harm me?

I didn’t kill him—that means I followed the shared rules of the Four Great Sects in broad daylight.

I was protecting the future interests of my fellow disciples of the Dao Gate.

This, too, was me giving face to your Sword Sect!

As for how you deal with Zhao Qianfeng afterward—Sword Sect, that’s up to you.

But to speak frankly, the Sword Sect does not just owe me, Chu Huaixu, an explanation. Nor just the Dao Gate.

You owe the entire Xuanhuang Realm an explanation!

……

……

The Demon-Slaying Mission was complete. The Dao Gate party mounted their horses, bringing the unconscious Zhao Qianfeng, and returned to the Dao Gate.

Because of Liu Tianfeng’s death, the gravity of the situation had increased significantly.

The matter would be judged by the Dao Gate’s upper echelon, and a letter would be sent to the Sword Sect. Then, someone would escort Zhao Qianfeng there.

On the way back, the atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

The death of a fellow disciple had undoubtedly affected everyone’s mood.

What felt most regrettable was—Steward Liu had left behind nothing.

Even his spiritual artifact had been destroyed; it could not be stored in the Hidden Spirit Mountain.

Had it been, he might have left behind a legacy for the future.

Sitting on horseback, Chu Huaixu opened his 【Character Panel】.

This time, between the Demon-Slaying mission and the task rewards, he had gained a total of over thirty thousand 【Experience Points】.

Not very high—the gains weren’t particularly great.

But since the hidden storyline 【Possession】 had been triggered, the 【System】 would surely grant additional rewards.

After he had extinguished that bizarre Divine Soul, the reward he received was an upgrade in the permission level of 【Information Probe】.

The Divine Sense within his Sea of Consciousness had also grown stronger.

Previously, if he cast an 【Information Probe】 at Mo Qingmei, due to the vast difference in realm, some basic information would be inaccessible.

But now, it was different. He could obtain the entirety of this Dao Gate steward’s basic information.

“The degree of permission upgrade is pretty big,” he thought—somewhat unexpected.

As for the increase in his Divine Sense—consider it a bonus.

The increase wasn’t excessive—his attribute had risen by about one-fifth.

Along the way, Chu Huaixu remained somewhat preoccupied.

That Divine Soul he encountered in the altar—it kept making him uneasy.

“I’ve never heard of such a being.”

“Usually, once a cultivator dies—they’re dead.”

“Even Major Cultivators are no exception.”

In his understanding, such a thing as 【Possession】 shouldn’t exist in 《Borrowed Sword》.

He had never even heard of such a case.

That fact alone made the whole thing feel eerie enough.

Besides that, he was also pondering another matter—【Successor of the Realm Lord】.

“What exactly is a Realm Lord?” Chu Huaixu wondered.

Strictly speaking, he should count as a 【Dao Ancestor Inheritor】.

“So did that Divine Soul sense something in my body—is that why it said such a thing?”

“Is it Spiritual Energy—or something else?”

If it was Spiritual Energy, then... could the Dao Ancestor and the so‑called Realm Lord be the same existence?

Yet Chu Huaixu still found it strange.

“Suppose he said those words because of the power of the 《Dao Canon》 within me—then that makes even less sense.”

“Since the Dao Ancestor’s passing, in the thousand years that followed, no one has ever cultivated a complete version of the 《Dao Canon》 or possessed Dao Canon power like mine.”

“Back then, even the Sect Master and the others were stunned for a long time when they saw the power within me.”

“Li Chunsong even blurted out on the spot, asking what kind of evil technique I was cultivating.”

“So then, how could such a demonic being recognize the Spiritual Energy within me?”

“How could he know the 《Dao Canon》 so well—recognizing it at a glance!”

“This art has been lost for a thousand years!”

“Could it be that this Divine Soul has existed in the Xuanhuang Realm for a thousand years—that it was someone from the Dao Ancestor’s era?”

At that thought, he immediately dismissed it as impossible.

In the Xuanhuang Realm, cultivation rarely extended one’s lifespan.

Even someone as mighty as the Dao Ancestor eventually passed away.

How could there possibly be a soul that wandered the Xuanhuang Realm for a millennium?

“Still, perhaps the reason he said those words wasn’t even because of my Spiritual Energy.”

Unfortunately, the situation at that time had been dire—he couldn’t just sit back and let the possession continue just to satisfy curiosity.

He couldn’t even rule out the possibility that the being had simply been spouting nonsense to bewitch him.

Soon, the group returned to the Dao Gate.

After ascending the mountain, Chu Huaixu and the others were required to report to the Disciples’ Courtyard immediately—to complete the official procedure.

After submitting their report, they would then receive their Sect Contribution Points.

Meanwhile, Mo Qingmei went straight to report the matter to the Dao Gate’s upper echelons.

She felt it was a matter of utmost urgency.

The person she sought was Li Chunsong.

After all, before their descent, Li Chunsong had given Liu Tianfeng a 【Domain Talisman】.

That made him the most appropriate person to receive the report.

The Sixth Elder of the Dao Gate listened to Mo Qingmei’s account, his expression shifting several times.

His face grew heavier—more and more solemn—until, in the end, his expression was as dark as still water.

Mo Qingmei first informed him of the results, telling him of Liu Tianfeng and Ge Long’s deaths.

That alone caused Li Chunsong’s face to twist with unconcealed fury. The oppressive aura of a Seventh Realm Major Cultivator leaked from him unconsciously.

But when he heard of the Divine Soul, boundless astonishment surfaced upon his face.

“How is Chu Huaixu?” he asked urgently.

“He’s fine,” Mo Qingmei answered.

Li Chunsong immediately exhaled a breath of relief and motioned for her to continue.

Later, when he heard that Chu Huaixu had slain that Divine Soul, the Sixth Elder could no longer sit still. He stood abruptly and began pacing back and forth.

Li Chunsong paced as he said, “Don’t stop—keep talking!”

“And be as detailed as possible. Recall carefully—was there any detail you might have missed?”

Mo Qingmei nodded at his words.

She recounted the entire incident, leaving nothing out.

Including how Chu Huaixu had finally destroyed Zhao Qianfeng’s life‑bound sword.

Then she added, “Sixth Elder, at that time my Sea of Consciousness was injured—I was unconscious. Many of the later details were told to me by Chu Huaixu himself.”

“Therefore, I think it’s best if you summon him and ask in person,” she suggested.

“Alright. I understand. I’ll take care of it,” Li Chunsong replied.

After saying so, he handed her a Spiritual Pill for restoring the Sea of Consciousness.

“This time, you’ve worked hard. Take this pill and consume it—it’ll prevent lingering harm.”

“Thank you, Sixth Elder.”

After Mo Qingmei departed, Li Chunsong flew straight to the Ask‑Dao Peak’s Grand Hall, and immediately sent a voice transmission to all the senior members, summoning them for an urgent meeting.

This was no longer a matter he could handle alone.

He had never expected things to escalate to such a degree.

“This happened within the Dao Gate’s jurisdiction!”

That was the most shocking part.

“An altar appearing is one thing—but why did Chu Huaixu have to encounter that?”

As for Chu Huaixu’s wordplay—destroying Zhao Qianfeng’s sword spirit—Li Chunsong didn’t even care.

It was a trivial matter.

After all those experiences, it was only natural for the boy to vent some frustration.

Before long, Xiang Yan and the others arrived at Ask‑Dao Peak. Even Jiang Zhi came.

As they entered, they all looked toward Li Chunsong and asked,

“What happened, that you’ve called everyone here in such haste?”

Everyone’s expression was solemn.

Li Chunsong making such a commotion clearly meant something serious had occurred.

In truth, had this merely been about Liu Tianfeng’s death, Li Chunsong’s tone should have carried anger.

Yet, his tone was filled mostly with anxiety.

And then, the Dao Gate’s Sixth Elder uttered only a few words—enough to leave every face in the hall frozen with shock. Chu Yinyin even exclaimed aloud: “What!?”

What Li Chunsong said was—

“Chu Huaixu encountered a 【Nascent Soul】!”