Chapter 213: Chapter 71 Scapegoat
Han Yuan City, Zhang Xuan’s residence.
Yue Longxiao looked at the thousand-li horse bustling about, serving tea and water, and still felt somewhat bewildered.
Ever since Ling Buyang had left, the three geniuses had come over, and after he gave them a few pointers… this horse walked in and started serving tea and various other things, making him doubt whether the creature before him was a person dressed in a horse’s hide.
“Sun Qiang, right? Has your family’s horse… always been like this?”
Yue Longxiao was curious.
“It was tamed by our old master, a natural oddity with the abilities of a Primordial Beast, so naturally it is more obedient…” Sun Qiang explained.
Yue Longxiao finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to savor his tea with care.
He had to admit, the flavor was indeed good. Looking up, he saw the thousand-li horse standing quietly by the tea table, brewing, pouring, and awakening the tea… a series of steps that dazzled the eye, all executed methodically.
After brewing the tea, the horse took a cup, tasted a sip, and smiled happily.
“Hee-haw, hee-haw…”
“Bizarre!”
Sighing inwardly, Yue Longxiao was about to continue questioning when hurried footsteps approached. He then saw Han Xiao walk in covered in blood, staggering with each step. As she entered the hall, she collapsed to the ground with a “thud!”
“Master Han, what’s wrong with you…”
His face changed, and Yue Longxiao quickly rushed over to her.
Han Xiao’s eyes were somewhat unfocused as she struggled to use her last bit of strength to shout, “Han Qianchou has killed Elder Mo Qing… forced me to admit to asking for a reward from Zouyi City, and after I feigned compliance and escaped, I was still severely injured by him…”
“Han Qianchou killed Mo Qing?”
A darkness flashed before Yue Longxiao’s eyes.
Mo Qing, no matter how incompetent, was still the third disciple of Mo Blade Sect leader Mo Baiye. Why would a mere emperor of a dynasty carelessly attend to him, let alone execute him?
Wasn’t this an obvious opposition to Mo Blade Sect and the entire Heaven Mandate Hall?
“What about Ling Buyang?”
His body trembling, Yue Longxiao couldn’t help but ask.
“He, he was also pursued by Han Qianchou, his exact life and death I do not know… Master Yue, you must avenge me, even if you can’t, you must still spread the news of his perverse and rebellious actions!”
With a cry of urgency, Han Xiao’s voice gradually weakened, and then her palm fell heavily. She had already stopped breathing.
Yue Longxiao’s body shook as he felt her pulse point, only to confirm that her heartbeat had indeed stopped… and not only that, her body had already grown cold!
“To kill Mo Qing, to kill Han Xiao, and now with Ling Buyang’s fate uncertain… Has Han Qianchou gone mad?”
He could not conceive why the emperor of Han Yuan Dynasty would do such a thing, yet… the message Han Xiao delivered with her life couldn’t possibly be wrong!
“Wait… if Ling Buyang is dead, doesn’t that mean I can take the three geniuses without giving them any benefits?”
Suddenly, Yue Longxiao had a thought.
Worrying about where to find benefits to offer them, he realized that if Ling Buyang were dead, there would be nothing to pay.
However, now was not the time to think about that. With a leap, he sprang out of the room and in a few steps reached the highest building in the courtyard, quietly looking around.
Indeed, soldiers filled the alleys around the residence, their numbers not less than a few thousand.
Was the entire royal city’s guard transferred here?
Besides the Qingtian Emperor in the royal palace, who else could achieve this?
If there were any doubts before about the veracity of Han Xiao’s words, this sight confirmed it was all true.
“He truly has gone mad… No, I must report this matter to the Zouyi Dynasty branch!”
Muttering to himself, Yue Longxiao jumped down in a hurry, took out a Tutelage Jade Token, and immediately transmitted the news he had just learned.
…
In a void space, Zhang Xuan floated silently while Sun Lianxiang, Yu Longqing, and Lu Mingrong lay nearby with their eyes closed, all seemingly unconscious.
Thinking back on what had just happened, Zhang Xuan pondered each step.
Activating the formation, seizing the chaos to kill Han Qianye, then throwing out Mo Qing’s corpse, and having Han Xiao “leak the information”… A series of maneuvers solidified the crime of Mo Qing being executed by the royalty.
Although he wouldn’t need to fear the Mo Blade Sect if he only kept his identity hidden, once Han Qianchou and others learned that he could be the Mandate Chaos Master and had previously harmed Yu Longqing and others, his death was a certainty.
He could achieve the same result with his own actions, but if someone with a keen eye investigated carefully, they would find traces leading back to him, and he would no longer be able to disguise himself as Ling Buyang.
Now, by having Han Qianchou “kill” Mo Qing, the Mo Blade Sect would clash with him, allowing him to take advantage of the chaos to act.
As for the disguise as Ling Buyang, it could be abandoned if necessary.
Of course, the time difference posed a big issue, but since Han Yuan City was far from Zouyi City, by the time they realized something was amiss, he would likely have already rendezvoused with Empyrean Kong.
After going over it once again, making sure there was no significant problem with his plan, Zhang Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, only one last step, and he would succeed.
Shaking his head, he stopped thinking about it and instead turned his attention to the three people before him.
This was his New World, where he had brought them before escaping the royal palace after killing Han Qianye.
“Although they won’t leak my information, they also can’t mention anything about the New World…”
The matters of the Master of a Realm were currently inconvenient to disclose, not because of a lack of trust, but because if anyone was skilled at Soul Searching, it would be troublesome. Therefore, the moment he brought them here, he had knocked them unconscious with his strength.
Returning to the Source World, Zhang Xuan reverted back to his guise as Ling Buyang, moved swiftly, and soon arrived back at the courtyard, in an unoccupied room.
With a gentle flick, the three people simultaneously appeared, lying flat on the ground.
With a flick of his finger, the Heaven’s Path zhenqi flowed into their bodies. The wounds on Yu Longqing and Lu Mingrong healed at a visibly rapid pace.
Having done all this, he once again gestured, and after a short while, the three people slowly opened their eyes.
“Where is this? Have I been killed?”
Sun Lianxiang, who had not been hurt much, was the first to regain consciousness. She looked around in confusion, her eyes landing on Zhang Xuan, and then she suddenly realized, “Benefactor, it was you who saved me, I owe you my life again…”
She still vividly remembered being forced by powerful guards dressed in golden armor to take poison, only to be saved by a masked person. Now it seemed that it was indeed this benefactor’s doing.
“I should be thanking you for taking the risk to come and relay the message…” Zhang Xuan nodded with a smile.
From their first meeting, he thought that this woman was very responsible, but he didn’t expect her character to also be exceptionally good. In that situation, she was still able to be grateful and try to repay her benefactor; until the very end, she hadn’t given him away, which was truly not easy.
“You could go to the royal palace and rescue me; whether or not you relayed the message, it wouldn’t have made any difference to you…”
Sun Lianxiang said with a touch of embarrassment.
He not only had the ability to penetrate the formation-filled royal palace but also to effortlessly rescue someone. With such strength, her so-called message relay was indeed not very significant to him.
“If it wasn’t for you, they might still be suffering punishment or perhaps already dead…” Zhang Xuan remarked with emotion as he looked at Yu Longqing and the other.
By this time, Yu Longqing and the second person had also awakened and, learning of the situation, bowed in unison, “Thank you, Teacher Zhang, for your rescue, and thank you, miss…”
Sun Lianxiang quickly returned the gesture.
“Please, no need for formalities. I am someone who always repays kindness as well as enmity. Because of me, you got involved and suffered a lot. Naturally, I would also offer compensation.”
Looking at the three people before him, Zhang Xuan smiled slightly, “Would you three like to become Fate Masters?”
Yu Longqing laughed bitterly, “I’ve dreamed of it, but unfortunately, my talent is limited. Back then, I only managed to ignite one Heavenly Destiny Incense, and I have no chance in this lifetime…”
Lu Mingrong also shook his head, “Same here! Only as a Fate Master would one have the qualifications to break the shackles of the body, push beyond the limits, and challenge a higher realm. I’m afraid this is what every cultivator yearns for.”
Seeing that Sun Lianxiang hadn’t spoken, Zhang Xuan looked at her, “How about you?”
“Me?” Sun Lianxiang’s eyes dimmed, “My cultivation was destroyed by someone’s poison, cutting off my foundation. I can’t even practice cultivation, let alone dare to think about becoming a Fate Master…”
Zhang Xuan smiled, “That’s not necessarily the case. Try to circulate your strength and see!”
“Circulate my strength?”
Sun Lianxiang looked puzzled, but she still circulated her strength, and immediately felt a strong power generated in the Source Pool, coursing throughout her body.
“I can cultivate again… how, how is this possible? I had consulted physicians before who said that my Source Pool had shattered and that there was no possibility of recovery in this lifetime…” Sun Lianxiang’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Zhang Xuan replied, “When I was treating your injuries, I also repaired your damaged Source Pool!”
“Repair the Source Pool?”
Sun Lianxiang had yet to grasp how astonishing it was to achieve this. On the side, Yu Longqing and Lu Mingrong were simultaneously too shocked to speak.
The Source Pool, the foundation granted by Heaven Mandate Hall for cultivators to fix chaos, once damaged, meant one could only be an ordinary person for life. Yet, he could repair it… What couldn’t he do?
To their overwhelming shock, actually for Zhang Xuan, even without a Source Pool, he could create one from nothing, repairing was just a trivial matter, not worth mentioning.
“I’ve just cultivated the Mo Dao Destiny, and I wonder if the three of you are interested. If you are, I can teach it to you,” Zhang Xuan spoke calmly, not dwelling on the issue any longer.
“Mo Dao Destiny ranks high in solo attacks. Otherwise, Mo Baiye wouldn’t hold such a high status in the Zhou Yi Dynasty…” Yu Longqing commented thoughtfully.
He had traveled through the Zhou Yi Dynasty in his youth and knew this very well.
“If I could cultivate it, I’d probably wake up laughing from my dreams, but…”
Lu Mingrong looked over with puzzlement, “City Lord Yu was able to ignite one Heavenly Destiny Incense, indicating he has some talent. But me, I have none. Even if I wanted to practice it, I can’t, right?”
“Yes!” Sun Lianxiang likewise agreed, “I’ve also tested for talent, I truly have no qualifications to become a Fate Master…”
“Since I dared to ask, I naturally have a way. As long as you want, I can let you practice!” Cutting off their conversation, Zhang Xuan looked at them nonchalantly.
“What?”
Hearing his categorical statement, the three of them were stunned, their minds exploding with shock, as they stood rooted to the spot.
