Chapter 1231: What Does It Have to Do with You
Qi Xuansu was not an inexperienced novice, so he would not simply believe whatever others said. He had to rely on his own judgment.
Quan claimed that she had been in a state of feigned death, so she was unaware of the Yao family’s existence, which was a plausible explanation.
Qi Xuansu deliberately misled Quan into believing that the Eleven Ancestral Witches had all perished. This was a test, because if Quan had ever encountered members of the Yao family, she would have known that the Eleven Ancestral Witches had not all fallen. She would also have realized that Qi Xuansu had not told the whole truth. However, judging from Quan’s reactions, it was highly likely that she had never met anyone from the Yao family.
There was another possible reason why Quan had not been discovered by the Yao family. The Lingshan Paradise was far too dangerous, so after entering it, the Yao family members would not wander around at will. After all, they were not there to explore. They most likely had a fixed route designated by Elder Yao that was relatively safe. Thus, they would not easily deviate from it. The temple where Quan was located happened to lie outside that route, so it was only natural that the Yao family did not discover the Great Witch’s presence.
This was the difference between entering properly and sneaking in. Qi Xuansu was clearly the latter, so naturally, he did not know a safe route and could only grope his way forward on his own.
Logically speaking, when the Heavenly Sect launched a large-scale assault on Lingshan Paradise back then, there must have been a topographic map of sorts. It would have been absurd to fight a major battle without first understanding the terrain.
As the successor of the Heavenly Sect, the Zhengyi Sect had preserved such materials, so Qi Xuansu managed to get a copy of the map with the Heavenly Preceptor’s help.
However, after the great battle, the Lingshan Paradise began to collapse, with drastic changes in terrain.
It had been nearly 1600 years since the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor left the mortal realm. Over such a long period, the terrain of the Lingshan Paradise had undergone tremendous changes. Entire townships might have sunk beneath the water and turned into a vast lake. Thus, if he followed an old map, he was bound to get lost. Since Qi Xuansu was heading for Lingshan, he would reach the pitch-black mountain as long as he moved forward. He was not here to hunt for treasures, so whether he had a map or not made little difference.
Elder Yao was certainly more familiar with the Lingshan Paradise than the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor. Yet, even she had to reopen pathways, which showed just how drastic the changes in Lingshan Paradise were.
In short, the old experiences from thousands of years ago were no longer applicable. What mattered were the experiences accumulated over the past two centuries, but those were held by the Yao family, not by the Zhang family.
This also reminded Qi Xuansu of what Madam Qi once said. Usually, in a marriage where both parties were of the same social class, a man would have three major kinship groups—his paternal clan, maternal clan, and wife’s clan—specifically, his paternal and maternal uncles as well as father-in-law. These three could support one another or restrain one another. For example, if a man was bullied by his paternal uncles, the maternal uncle or father-in-law could step forward to back him up.