Chapter Ninety-Four: Hidden Currents Stirring

The night was black enough to chill the blood.

At Poison-Devouring Manor, Wu Dingshan’s pustule-ridden face seeped threads of sickly green fluid.

It was a lingering consequence of having tested too many poisons, compounded by the backlash of cultivating the Serpent-Shedding Bone Calamity Art.

Whenever his emotions surged violently, that aftereffect would suddenly erupt across his face.

Standing before him were one man and two women. They looked straight at his face, yet showed no trace of fear.

“Father, our spies in the Heavenly Derivation Sect have sent word that Mo Qingli, whose meridians were utterly destroyed centuries ago, has recovered and is now fully normal again. His cultivation has also reached the Core Formation stage, and he has even obtained a pair of heavenly steed wings said to exist only in the upper realm!”

The speaker was Wu Dingshan’s youngest son, Wu Jaji.

“What? You mean Mo Qingli, the little apprentice of old man Chu Gu? That genius with the single wind spiritual root?” A hoarse voice cut in before he could finish. Wei Juan’s wrinkled face gained yet another hideous scar.

Wu Jaji nodded solemnly. “Yes, it is him!”

“Has Heaven taken the side of those hypocritical righteous sects as well?” Wu Dingshan slammed the table hard. The force made the green fluid on his face tremble loose and drip to the floor, where it instantly burned out a cluster of tiny, wormhole-like black pits.

Wu Xinzhi stepped forward and said, “Father, please calm yourself. Even if Mo Qingli was a genius in the past, he is still only at the early Core Formation stage now. There will be plenty of chances left for our demonic sect to act!”

Wu Dingshan curled his lips and said darkly, “You two are still too young to know what kind of person Mo Qingli really is. Your father was fortunate enough to meet him once. Back then, I intended to rely on my own Core Formation mid-stage cultivation to capture that brat, who had only just reached Foundation Establishment, and use him to give the Heavenly Derivation Sect a warning. Who would have thought that the boy possessed such extraordinary skill? He actually disregarded the entire gulf between Foundation Establishment and Core Formation and escaped from my hands!”

Wu Jaji and Wu Xinzhi both changed color at that. They had never imagined Mo Qingli to be such a formidable figure.

“All right, stop frightening the children. Mo Qingli is of wind affinity; speed is his natural advantage. On top of that, he had a bit of wit at the time, which was why he managed to slip from your grasp. If you met him head-on, he would not be your match.” Wei Juan’s voice was low and sinister, carrying a faint air of terror in the dim chamber.

Wu Xinzhi and Wu Jaji exchanged glances, each seeing a trace of caution in the other’s eyes.

Even if a wind-affinity cultivator fled with astonishing speed, escaping from a Core Formation cultivator was still no easy feat.

Wu Dingshan narrowed his long eyes, murderous intent flickering within them. “Hmph. Since Mo Qingli has emerged again, the ones watching him can’t possibly be only this manor lord. This matter is not urgent. But as for Jin Ningning’s whereabouts, do you still have no clue at all?”

Wei Juan felt her back break out in a prickling sweat under that stare. She chose her words carefully before replying, “That girl must have been taken by Huo Tangsheng or Jiang Shuangyan! They may possess a soul-imprisoning treasure, which makes it difficult for us to pinpoint her location accurately!”

“And that strange woman? Have you found out who she is? Have you brought back Bai Shulan and her brother?” The pocks on Wu Dingshan’s face were multiplying, making him look ever more horrifying.

Wu Jaji and Wu Xinzhi both felt a chill in their hearts, yet neither dared shift their gaze from Wu Dingshan even slightly.

Wei Juan loathed the strange woman who had deceived her, but she had no clue to that woman’s identity. Now, when it seemed she was about to be dragged down by her again, she could only brace herself and answer, “As for that woman, her true identity has not yet been discovered. However, I have already located Bai Shulan and her brother!”

“Then you found them and still failed to bring them back. Your abilities really are growing by the day!” Wu Dingshan’s entire body seemed to liquefy into a mass of pus as his furious roar echoed through the chamber.

“Bad news, young lady, young master, leave here at once!” Seeing Wu Dingshan fall into demonic corruption, Wei Juan immediately drew out her staff and, with burning urgency, ushered Wu Xinzhi and Wu Jaji out.

In the span of a breath, the secret chamber was completely filled with Wu Dingshan’s pus-like liquid.

Within that inhuman mass of greenish corruption, a pair of narrow, blood-red eyes burst forth with venomous malice.

“Jin Ningning, who exactly are you?”

...

At Dailuo Peak, Jiang Ketao hurried through the night to Jiang Shuangyan’s cave dwelling.

Gathered there, besides him, were Jiang Shuangyan’s master, the Peak Lord of Dailuo Peak, Jiang Xialin.

Jiang Xialin swept her elder brother a glance, her expression faintly displeased, and said with disdain, “What is there to fear? What Mo Qingli did today was truly unwise. To reveal his sharp edge when his strength is still insufficient is nothing more than making himself a target for everyone to hit!”

“But... the sect master has already taken Mo Qingli’s side. In the future, the Heavenly Derivation Sect’s resources will probably all tilt toward Little Peace Peak.” Jiang Ketao voiced his thoughts with some hesitation.

Looking at her father’s worried expression, Jiang Shuangyan could not help thinking of how Qu Yiqiu had twice ruined her tasks. She said in annoyance, “Father, what are you afraid of? Mo Qingli’s eldest disciple is nothing but trash. Aside from being somewhat pleasing to the eye, she is useless. Even if the sect master really favors them, at most he will allocate a little more resources to them. They can’t possibly compare with our Dailuo Peak!”

Jiang Xialin nodded in agreement.

Jiang Ketao looked at the confident expressions on his sister’s and daughter’s faces and sighed helplessly. “Alas, if it were only that useless disciple, Qu Yiqiu, I wouldn’t care. But you have all overlooked the little apprentice Mo Qingli took in some days ago, that child named Mu Yunjin. He is only twelve years old by bone age, yet his cultivation has already reached the twelfth layer of Qi Refinement. Back when Shuangyan was young, she swallowed countless pills and still never broke through to the twelfth layer of Qi Refinement this quickly.”

Jiang Xialin’s brows moved slightly as her expression turned grave. “What kind of aptitude does Mu Yunjin possess? How could his cultivation advance so rapidly?”

Jiang Shuangyan widened her almond-shaped eyes and pressed, “Exactly, Father. What kind of background does that Mu Yunjin have?”

Jiang Ketao answered heavily, “Mu Yunjin has a single fire spiritual root, and he also possesses the Myriad Beasts Flame-Bound Physique! Mo Qingli had him drink the blood of the Nine-Hued Deer, and perhaps because of that, he directly broke through to the twelfth layer of Qi Refinement. That boy’s constitution is exceptional. Ordinary people could never withstand the power of Nine-Hued Deer blood!”

“He will become my next formidable enemy!” Jiang Shuangyan blurted out the words almost without thinking.

Jiang Xialin’s gaze sharpened, glinting with cold brilliance. “What this seat has always feared was never Mo Qingli’s strength, but his fortune. A Nine-Hued Deer and a Myriad Beasts Flame-Bound Physique—either one alone would have stirred turmoil among the major powers of the Five Elements Realm if it were made public. Yet both somehow fell into his hands, and Heaven even restored his path of cultivation!”

“Yes... back then, Ancestor Chu Gu declared he would take only one disciple in this lifetime, and in the end he made an exception for Mo Qingli as well!” Jiang Ketao shook his head and sighed.

Jiang Shuangyan turned her head away, unwilling to accept it. “No matter how dazzling he was back then, wasn’t he still bullied like a dog? He couldn’t even protect the disciples under him!”

“You child, you must not speak like that again!” Jiang Ketao’s expression hardened as he instructed, “Mo Qingli is no ordinary man now. We cannot openly oppose him!”

Thank you all for reading. Flowers offered in gratitude.