Tie Dan rejoiced,
"Oh, then Iâll return to the mountain."
Lingxu realized he truly didnât remember, so he had to remind him,
"Qingtang Sect."
Only then did Tie Dan recall those two green tea women and casually said,
"Oh oh, those two said theyâd hand over thirty percent of the Daoist collection and asked you to spare them.
But you already know about it, so what message do I need to pass on?"
Lingxu shook his head,
"They didnât really hide their tracks; any attentive person could figure it out. But as for what they specifically said, only heaven and earth know.
And... thirty percent? Are you sure you didnât remember wrongly? Thirty percent?"
Tie Dan said, "I have a photographic memory!"
Lingxu gave him a doubtful look and then took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it over.
Tie Dan, "What else do you want me to do?"
Lingxu said,
"Theyâve already offered tremendous benefits to entice you, so naturally, this matter should have a proper beginning and end.
Once youâve sorted out your own matters, deliver this letter to Qingtang for me.
Tell them I agreed, but thereâs a condition that they must fulfill.
The task is written in the letter; they should read it and burn it immediately.
Succeed or fail, they must give a response on the spot; there will be no other chances."
Tie Dan squinted his eyes,
"Itâs not something good, is it..."
Lingxu sneered and handed the letter to Tie Dan.
"Donât worry, itâs definitely a huge opportunity.
This is the route of the first Tribute from the Three Constellations three months later. Have them prepare in advance, disguise themselves as the Xiaoyao Demon Path, and intercept the offerings sent to Yun Tai. Then, it would offset the treasures theyâve hidden and also cause the Immortal Palace to bleed once more."
Tie Dan was speechless,
"No, the ancestor has suffered such a great grievance, and theyâre at odds with the Leisure Sect. You want them to impersonate the Xiaoyao Sect, can they agree to this?"
Lingxu chuckled,
"If they really could refuse because of the ancestorâs grievance, I would look at them differently.
Do you think I donât know how many Qingtang disciples are secretly cultivating energy and ruining othersâ cultivation under the guise of the Carefree Demoness? The nine major sects have stacked complaints against the Qingtang disciples on my desk like a mountain.
Besides, that Shanglin Treasure cost the entire Mystic Sect great effort and unity to obtain. To vie for these things, even the Tian Gang was so despaired that people gnash their teeth with hatred. What skills do they have to monopolize seventy percent? Itâs simply seeking death.
Iâll make a bet with you. If they refuse on the spot and are willing to hand over their hidden Daoist collection to Yun Tai, Iâll let them go. If they agree to intercept and still plan to stash some, hahahaha...
In any case, just watch for me, and in the future, on Yun Tai Peak, you can be a witness. If you successfully complete this task, you will have your reward."
Tie Dan, speechless as well, didnât try to persuade him. After all, as the saying goes, itâs not that Lingxu wants to trouble them, itâs that those sisters really believe they are clever, unaware that the entire Mystic Sect is eyeing their hidden items.
Lingxu sighed, in a tone of iron that hasnât turned into steel,
"Unfortunately, the ancestor Qingtang was a heroine, not inferior to men. I never expected the descendants to be so greedy, foolish, and ignorant, completely disgracing the Mystic Sect. But thatâs that, there should be at least a couple who can be saved; cleaning up the mountain gate and re-establishing the Daoist inheritance is not too late."
Tie Dan, rarely seeing Lingxu show such emotion, was also curious,
"Do you know their ancestor? Oh? You know their ancestor!"
Lingxu snorted, flicked his sleeve, and seemed reluctant to discuss their ancestor further, casually saying,
"Who in the world doesnât know their ancestor, the Xuan Nu statue is carved after their ancestor."
"Oh... eh, eh!?!"
Tie Dan was caught off guard, suddenly fed such big news!
"What!? The Xuan Nu statue is the ancestor Qingtang!!?"
Lingxu impatiently said,
"Itâs nothing but a statue. Ancestor Qingtang had made great contributions and was highly esteemed, considered a successor of Xuan Nu.
Later, she was harmed by the Xiaoyao Demon Path, severely injured, her Primordial Spirit collapsed. Thus, the Mystic Sect used the Immortal Palaceâs Divine Path to build the statue in various sects, dispersing Divine Light to heal her.
Eventually, the elderly passed away, and those who knew the inside story remained silent for long, turning into rumors that it was the statue of Xuan Nu."
Tie Dan frowned,
"So it was like this... But wait? The Leisure Sect also worships Xuan Nu? They surely wouldnât be worshipping the ancestor Qingtang, right?"
Lingxuâs eyes became sharp,
"Have you seen the Xiaoyao Demon Path?"
Seeing this, Tie Dan remembered, quickly returned a similarly sharp gaze, puffed up his chest, and responded deeply,
"Itâs written in the Sword Sect Leaderâs secret records."
Lingxu saw Tie Dan so sharp and hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, deciding not to pursue it further,
"Worshipping Xuan Nu is originally a tradition on the Xiaoyao Demon Sect side. They worship the original Xuan Nu. Later generations just sculpted Qingtangâs face on it."
"Oh, so they just carved the face..."
Tie Dan exclaimed!
"Exclaimed what!!? Xuan Nu is faceless!?"
Lingxu remained silent, gave Tie Dan a deep look,
"I only said carving a face, never said faceless.
You truly have seen the real Xuan Nu statue.
Where is it."
Tie Dan fell silent, at that moment, he felt an unprecedented great pressure coming from the void.
It was the kind of tension he had never felt before, even when facing the elites from various sects.
It was a biological suppression that directly threatened the Demon Dragon Seed, the Yazi Beast.
It was directly from Lingxuâs hostility.
In the brief silence, Tie Dan quickly determined that further hesitation would only trigger another death file, so he decisively decided to be straightforward,
"After I last came to find you, I pursued the Heavenly Demon all the way and eventually reached the Leisure Palace.
I discovered that the Master Xuan Du was nurturing âeggsâ, and thus witnessed a Faceless Xuan Nu statue."
The opposite party remained silent for a while, just when Tie Dan thought he was entering a Boss battle, Lingxu sighed, sat down on the futon before Tie Dan,
"That jade truly couldnât fool you, but this is too fast."
Tie Dan stared at him,
"Did you always know what the Great Mage was doing?"
Lingxu nodded.
Tie Dan squinted, realizing he might have stepped into an unprecedented hidden plot, so he decided to take a chance,
"The Great Mage said you both were disciples of the Thunder Ancestor, and back then, a Heavenly Demon descended and wiped out the Leisure Sect overnight.
So he decided to study the way of the Heavenly Demon, while you decided to recreate the Void Heaven, escaping the Taiji Realm.
Is it true?"
Lingxu frowned,
"He actually told you even this? Whatâs your relationship? Did you inherit the Daoist teaching of Xuan Du, accepted the Thunder Talisman of Shenxiao?"
Tie Dan shook his head, stared into Lingxuâs eyes,
"He just treated me as a friend. Friends chat, isnât it okay?"
Lingxu remained silent, unsure what he was calculating, but eventually spoke,
"Chatting... This is the Realm of Divine Consciousness, too many people and chatter, not convenient to talk, moreover Iâm very busy...
In this case, since youâre so obsessed with these secrets, as long as you complete the task for Qingtang Sect, Iâll sit down and have a nice chat with you.
Now I can only answer one question for you, think carefully before you speak."
This time it was Tie Danâs turn to remain silent, inner conflict raging.
What Tie Dan wanted to ask, what he didnât know, was as numerous as the stars in the sky.
The faceless Immortal, the outworldly demon, the mountain people, the worldly matters.
Currently, Tie Dan understood nothing, knew nothing.
He didnât know if sharing the dreams and future he saw would make a difference or if it could make any difference.
But he decided to speak.
After all, if he just stayed in the mountains waiting, nothing would change, and no one could be saved.
So Tie Dan asked,
"How can I ensure my friends survive?"
Lingxu gave Tie Dan a deep look and pointed to the "Blood Talisman Divine Sword Annotation" in his hand,
"Refining this will ensure survival.
Additionally, tell your friend that the Taiji Dao is a dead end."