Chapter 243 : Hidden Quest, Secret of Xuanhuang

Chapter 243: Hidden Quest, Secret of Xuanhuang

“Is it... over?”

Xu Ziqing and Han Shuangjiang, who had arrived late, looked at the scene before them, and such a thought simultaneously arose in their minds.

On the ground lay the corpses of two Evil Cultivators, each with two bloody holes blasted open in their chests, their deaths tragic and miserable.

Their eyes remained open in death, filled with boundless terror and despair.

As for the one whose neck was being gripped by Chu Huaixu, he appeared to have had all his qi sealed off and was now unable to move.

Only his eyes still flickered with emotion.

His mood, it seemed, was no different from the two dead men.

The only difference was that he was not dead yet—thus his eyes also carried a trace of... regret.

The Evil Cultivator Envoy wished he could slap himself. “Why was I so arrogant? We knew the Dao Gate’s reinforcements were coming, and just because their cultivation wasn’t high, we didn’t retreat!”

Unfortunately, now he couldn’t even slap himself.

Seeing that Jiang Chang’s life was no longer in danger, Chu Huaixu slowly withdrew his left hand.

He glanced at the Evil Cultivator Envoy still under his control, then crippled the man's limbs with a burst of force before casually tossing him to the ground.

The man's qi was still partially sealed by Chu Huaixu and he now had no strength left to resist.

Chu Huaixu looked over at Jiang Chang and the others and asked, “Senior Brother, how should I address you?”

“Junior Brother Chu, I’m Jiang Chang.”

“Senior Brother Jiang, you’re all badly injured. Why don’t you return to the sect now to recover? Leave the rest to us.” Chu Huaixu spoke calmly.

Jiang Chang originally intended to say it was fine, that they could finish up here and return together.

But for some reason, looking at the other’s calm expression, he found himself unable to say a word in opposition.

This was reverence.

It was strange—clearly this person was a junior brother, clearly his cultivation was just early Third Realm—and yet, after a few casual displays, he naturally commanded awe, making others follow his instructions without hesitation.

“Alright,” Jiang Chang finally responded.

He was the team leader, and with him giving the word, the others could only comply.

Han Shuangjiang stood to the side, holding the reins of the Swift Movement Steed, quietly observing everyone’s expressions.

The looks on their faces were all the same: reverence—reverence—admiration—reverence—

Huh? What was that gaze just now?

That Senior Sister whom Chu Huaixu had protected with a defensive barrier from his jade pendant—her gaze had clearly changed.

Even as they were leaving, she couldn’t help but glance back at Chu Huaixu multiple times.

This made the cold-faced girl frown slightly.

What on earth had that Dead Fox done while she was away?

She immediately stepped forward and asked, “What happened just now?”

Chu Huaixu briefly explained.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Really it?”

“Really it!”

He gave Han Shuangjiang a somewhat puzzled look.

Of course, he had clearly seen the looks on everyone’s faces. As someone ranked second on the Must-Eat List of Play Companions, how could he not understand the meaning behind that Senior Sister’s eyes?

So, he simply walked up to the Evil Cultivator Envoy, squatted down, and slapped him across the face.

“Pa—!”

“My Dao Companion’s asking you, was that really all that happened?”

The Evil Cultivator felt like his teeth had been knocked loose by the slap, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, and hurriedly replied, “Yes yes yes, that’s all, that’s all!”

After landing that loud slap, Chu Huaixu didn’t bother looking at Han Shuangjiang’s expression. Instead, he continued staring at the Evil Cultivator and asked coldly:

“Speak. Why did you come here?”

“They called me here.”

“Called you for what?”

“I don’t know. They didn’t say yet—”

“Pa—!” This time, his teeth were truly broken.

Chu Huaixu looked at him calmly and said, “Do you take me for a fool?”

After the pain, the Evil Cultivator Envoy began to laugh—and the laughter only grew louder.

“Xuanhuang Champion, do you take me for a fool instead? Of course I know I’m already on a dead-end path. You think you’ll let me go alive? Hahaha!”

“You disciples of the Four Great Sects always believe in eradicating evil to the root, don’t you?”

“If so, what do you want me to say! What’s the point of saying anything! Just give me a quick death!”

Chu Huaixu looked at him and chuckled.

“Oh? You think I can’t do anything to you?”

The Evil Cultivator Envoy hadn’t expected this brat to skip all the false pleasantries and lies and just get straight to the point.

But you underestimate Evil Cultivators far too much!

Chu Huaixu slowly stood up and sighed, then stomped on the man’s rib.

Since the Envoy’s shin was already broken, Chu Huaixu stomped directly on his thigh bone next.

Agonized screams followed, and before long, there was barely an unbroken spot left on the Evil Cultivator’s body.

His eyelids began to droop.

“So this is the end, after all the suffering?”

Liberation—death would be liberation.

He slowly closed his eyes, his body growing cold.

But then, warmth suddenly returned.

It was as though, on the brink of death, radiant sunlight had begun to shine on him.

So warm. So healing. How utterly damned he was!

The Evil Cultivator’s injuries began to heal.

But Chu Huaixu had no intention of fully restoring him—just enough to keep him alive.

Then came a new round of torture.

Worse yet, the Evil Cultivator realized he couldn’t even pass out!

His opponent had some technique targeting the Sea of Consciousness.

The moment he tried to slip into unconsciousness, a searing mental pain would jolt him awake again!

“Please, kill me! Aaaaaah!”

“Just kill me already! Let me die! Please!”

“Chu Huaixu!! Kill me!!!”

The young man in the black robe remained utterly calm and silent.

“Too noisy,” he muttered, then sealed off the man’s qi, preventing him from speaking.

And so the next round of torture began.

“Weren’t you just tough-mouthed?” Chu Huaixu said flatly.

He didn’t think it was enough yet—not enough to confirm if the man would speak the truth later.

What if he lied, just to get a quick death?

But that was fine. He’d break his will, bit by bit.

Terror in the Evil Cultivator’s eyes gradually turned to despair.

For a moment, he even wondered: who’s the real Evil Cultivator here—me or you?

Even Han Shuangjiang watching from the side couldn’t help twitching at the corner of her eye.

The cold-faced girl thought to herself: “I wonder if the Dao Ancestor ever imagined that the 【Southward Sunlight】 he bestowed would be used like this?”

Everything at this moment embodied one phrase perfectly: can’t live, can’t die.

More importantly, Chu Huaixu’s eyes remained calm the entire time.

After another round of torment, he began healing the man again.

Chu Huaixu released the Qi-Locking Seal and finally spoke:

“Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll grant you a swift death.”

“Remember, I don’t want you to spill everything at once. I’ll ask one question at a time, and I’ll ask each question multiple times. If at any point I sense inconsistency or contradiction... you know what will happen.”

In fact, Chu Huaixu had his own way of verification.

Or rather, players had their own method of interrogation.

That was—whether or not a quest got triggered!

If the system didn’t trigger a quest, there was a good chance the person was lying!

“The system is rigid, but people are flexible.”

“There are many ways to creatively use its functions—depends on whether you know how to use them.” Chu Huaixu thought.

After some interrogation, Chu Huaixu learned that the man’s name was Cui Hua. He only had a Low-grade Spirit Embryo, and had stumbled into becoming an Evil Cultivator.

He was from an Evil Cultivator organization known as the Black Moon Sect.

The organization had only been formed last year, gathering many Evil Cultivators together.

The reason they had united was because of one central figure within the Black Moon Sect.

Their sect master—rumored to be a Ninth Realm expert!

“There’s a Ninth Realm among Evil Cultivators?” Chu Huaixu remained skeptical.

Seeing his expression, Cui Hua immediately swallowed and added, “Just a rumor! A rumor!”

“But the Sect Master is indeed extremely powerful, with miraculous divine abilities!”

Chu Huaixu glanced at him coldly and said nothing.

To reach the Ninth Realm, one needed a Fragment of Xuanhuang Origin.

Those who possessed Origin Power were well-known to the Four Great Sects.

“Moreover, those who possess Origin Power can sense each other’s 【Location】 unless their cultivation gap is too vast,” Chu Huaixu thought.

This meant mutual oversight and checks.

“In such a situation, to form something like the Black Moon Sect in secret—especially a new one—it’s not entirely impossible, but...”

“The problem is, if any random Evil Cultivator can join, it would cause too much noise. How could they operate in secret?” Chu Huaixu found it illogical.

Whether it was Cui Hua or the other two corpses—they were all trash!

If you were going to stir up big things in secret, this wasn’t the way to do it.

“Why have you rats been moving around the Dao Gate territory lately?” Chu Huaixu asked.

“The Sect Master issued a mission to everyone—told us to search this area for something. If we found it, he would elevate our cultivation and grant us supreme authority within the sect!”

“What are you looking for?” Chu Huaixu asked.

“Don’t... don’t know,” Cui Hua replied.

He quickly added, “Really, I don’t know!”

“The Sect Master is unmatched. He placed a strand of his power on each of us. As long as we got close to the object, that strand would react.”

Cui Hua kept babbling on, but Chu Huaixu’s brows furrowed—he had stopped listening.

Because the System Notification rang in his ears.

【Ding! You have triggered one of the Hidden Quests: The Lost Fruit Position.】

【Quest currently unavailable. Conditions not met.】

【You must trigger related deep events to accept this quest.】

As he listened, Chu Huaixu’s heart surged.

He wasn’t too concerned that the quest couldn’t yet be accepted.

The quest title alone was shocking enough!

“Fruit Position?”

“The Lost Fruit Position?”

He knew full well what those words meant.

Over at Kunlun Grotto-Heaven, to enter the Soul Transformation Stage, one must first attain the Fruit Position!

Without a Fruit Position, one could not ascend!

“How could there be a lost Fruit Position in the Xuanhuang Realm?!”