Chapter 295 - 261: Retribution
Xie Jingshan brought Lii Jiuchuan to find Jiang Yuebai, walking with his tail between his legs all the way, not daring to make a sound, after all, it was he who spread the news.
From a distance, they saw Jiang Yuebai and over a dozen Foundation Establishment Cultivators sitting around the pavilion by the lotus pond. Xie Jingshan made a gesture of invitation and ran off.
Lii Jiuchuan shook his head with a smile and looked towards the center of the crowd. Jiang Yuebai was sitting cross-legged, not exactly upright, leaning forward with her brows furrowed, angrily debating with someone. She had an aura of cleverness and a hint of domineering spirit.
With a silver tongue, she tapped her palm with her finger, causing the person opposite to get tongue-tied, unable to speak properly.
After presenting her arguments, she quickly raised a series of questions. Instantly, everyone around rested their cheeks in their hands, tilted their heads, frowned, and pondered, leaving the pavilion in silence.
Jiang Yuebai raised her eyebrows smugly, a mischievous smile on her lips. She straightened her back, lifted her chin, and pretentiously picked up a teacup to drink tea.
Lii Jiuchuan could read her mind from her face, thinking roughly...
[Hmph, debating the Dao with me, you’re far off～]
"Ahem ahem!"
Lii Jiuchuan stood at a distance and coughed twice, the sound directly reaching Jiang Yuebai’s Sea of Consciousness.
Upon hearing it, Jiang Yuebai nearly knocked over the teacup in her hand, suddenly turning her head to look over, her eyes wide open.
Just as Lii Jiuchuan was about to signal for her to come out, Jiang Yuebai suddenly jumped up and waved her hands, shouting towards him.
"Master, you came at the right time. We have a lot of unresolved issues, please come and help us out."
As she spoke, Jiang Yuebai clumsily rummaged through the sleeves on both sides, dropping a Jade Scroll while grabbing two handfuls of Jade Scrolls in her hands.
Everybody looked over in unison, and Lii Jiuchuan took a deep breath. His large sleeves whipped up a gust of wind, blurring everyone’s sight.
By the time everyone regained their senses, Jiang Yuebai had already disappeared from the pavilion, and Lii Jiuchuan was also nowhere to be seen.
In the deserted courtyard, Jiang Yuebai landed unsteadily and almost fell.
"You’re getting quite capable, aren’t you!"
Lii Jiuchuan intentionally put on a stern face.
Jiang Yuebai cautiously glanced at Lii Jiuchuan, her eyes darting around, quickly recalling everything she had done over the past half month, and it seemed like she hadn’t done anything wrong... right...
Was it about her spreading poison?
No, she had asked before, and while she was still in the Secret Realm, there were mad dogs slandering her, but Master and True Monarch Fuyi had dealt with them, leaving them no face at all.
Then True Monarch Cang Huo secretly recorded the embarrassed look of those people and distributed the Memory Jade to everyone, which led to everyone not daring to say a bad word about her anymore.
If the Master could do that, it meant he wasn’t angry at her, right?
Jiang Yuebai scratched her head, looked again, and squinted her eyes.
"Master, are you trying to scare me on purpose? Recently, besides cultivating and debating the Dao with others, I’ve been well-behaved."
Lii Jiuchuan broke character, withdrew his cold aura, and tapped Jiang Yuebai’s forehead with a finger.
"You’re already a grown woman, but you still act like a little girl, lacking steadiness. Let me ask you, what about those rumors outside?"
Lii Jiuchuan briefly told Jiang Yuebai about what he had heard on the way, and after listening, Jiang Yuebai ground her teeth.
"Xie Jingshan! It must be him spreading those lies. I really didn’t intentionally show off. It was just normal debates among senior brothers, junior brothers, senior sisters, and junior sisters."
"Then what’s the deal with Fang Yuxing instantly forming a Core?" Lii Jiuchuan asked.
"He was already at the point where he was forming a Core. When Master Li demonstrated the transformation of a Single Spiritual Root into a second type of Spiritual Energy beside him, he was shocked, and then... instantly formed a Core, and Master Yuu took him away."
Lii Jiuchuan asked again, "What about Hee Wangchen?"
Mentioning this made Jiang Yuebai angry, "That one, you have to ask Xie Jingshan. He saw Hee Wangchen dozing off and claimed to give him a rejuvenating Elixir but ended up giving him the wrong Upper Level Spirit Ascending Elixir. Hee Wangchen happened to be stuck in the transition from Early Stage to mid-stage Foundation Establishment and broke through on the spot."
Lii Jiuchuan chuckled, "And what about the Daoist Rhyme and Bone Transformation?"
"Well..." Jiang Yuebai scratched her face, "That’s true. The senior brothers and sisters who were trapped in the Secret Realm had some vague insights into the Great Dao Rules after seeing the Law Fragments, and during our discussions, they suddenly had a breakthrough and experienced the Daoist Rhyme for the first time."
"I see, though the rumors outside are indeed a bit exaggerated."
Jiang Yuebai huffed, "It must be Xie Jingshan spreading nonsense. He’s just too idle. Master, wait till I provoke him to compete in the Foundation Establishment Stage Sword Cultivator rankings, and see if he still has time to make things up!"
Lii Jiuchuan raised his brow slightly, "Is it possible he was afraid you’d worry about Lu Nanzhi’s matters, so he’s intentionally finding things to distract you?"
Jiang Yuebai was stunned, perhaps... that really was the case. She hadn’t thought about Lu Nanzhi at all recently.
She used to think Xie Jingshan was dim-witted, but since reuniting this time, she gradually realized Xie Jingshan actually had a strategy. It’s just that he habitually acted dumb, and sometimes even she was fooled.
Perhaps it has to do with him growing up in Kongfang City, where the Xie Family was weak, and he was often despised and bullied by the high-minded young masters of the Fang Family.
"By the way, Master, what about... the Lu Family’s situation?" Jiang Yuebai asked.
Lii Jiuchuan briefly explained, "The situation is still very complicated. On the day of the incident, those high in cultivation from the Lu Family ran off early, leaving only some young Lu Family disciples detained by the Fang Family. Currently, the Lu Family is holding fort in their ancestral land in the Pingjiang Domain, refusing to come out, and are sending people to negotiate with the Fang Family and the noble families, trying to distance themselves."
"Our sect has ancestral rules, forbidding interference. Guiyuan Sword Sect also doesn’t want to get involved, only the Vajra Platform’s Divinity Transformation, Monk Wochen, came forward to mediate, temporarily preventing an outbreak. However, internally, the Pingjiang Domain has already descended into chaos, and the weaker sects and noble families are fleeing, possibly giving the Evil Dao opportunities."
In a few simple words, Jiang Yuebai could sense an impending storm.
If they fight, the fires of war will only increase. If they don’t, it will be hard to placate public anger, and the Lu Family can’t compensate for the noble families’ losses.
"So, are we returning to the sect?"
Lii Jiuchuan nodded, "The Sect Master has already ordered all Heavenly Interence Sect disciples outside to return to the sect as soon as possible, avoiding the Pingjiang and Baishui Domains to prevent being caught in the chaos. By the way, the Kong Family fulfilled their bet and sent the Green Cicada Flying Coin; you can refine it slowly when you return."
Lii Jiuchuan took out a wooden box and handed a Golden Paper to Jiang Yuebai.
"Wonderful, I thought they would default, but the Kong Family came through. What’s this?"
Jiang Yuebai held the wooden box and picked up the Golden Paper.
"Righteous Qi Poems, similar to Talisman Treasures..." Lii Jiuchuan briefly explained to Jiang Yuebai, and continued, "These seven or eight years you’ve spent outside have brought about significant changes, gaining you some fame, and you’ll surely be regarded with new eyes by the entire sect when you return."
"Also, you owe the sect some tasks over these years to make up for, and the Supreme Elder has found some cultivation techniques related to various Spiritual Objects for you to study and comprehend upon returning, and..."
"Seeing as you now have the ability to preach the Dao, once back at the sect, you should report to the Dharma Hall. Teaching others what you’ve learned can offer a different kind of insight. The position I hold at the Dharma Hall should now be succeeded by you, the foremost disciple."
"Huh? Can I not go?"
Lii Jiuchuan saw Jiang Yuebai’s distressed face, and couldn’t help the upward curve of his lips.
The cycle of karma, the ’retribution’ is inevitable, it’s time for this girl to have a taste of the difficulty of teaching and nurturing!