Chapter 441 : Unease
441: Unease
Huiqian died quickly. Before his death, he only managed to utter four words: "Beware the demon race."
After speaking these four words, Huiqian was gone. His soul instantly dissipated, and his body, as if doused with gasoline, was immediately engulfed by the ice-blue flames and reduced to ashes. Even though Yun Qingyue was the master of the ice flame with absolute control over it, in this moment the ice flame escaped her command. By the time she regained control a breath later, the person before her had been burned without a trace remaining.
This was extremely problematic. Since the ice flame was now essentially Yun Qingyue's innate true fire, no one would believe her if she claimed it had gone out of control. The scene appeared as if she had deliberately burned the man to death!
Even Jiang Mo, looking at her, revealed a trace of surprise in her eyes.
Of course, surprise was one thing, but Jiang Mo would never blame her—if Senior Sister suddenly used such force, the man must have done something wrong. Perhaps he had a past grudge with Senior Sister? Or maybe Senior Sister was simply startled by the words "demon race" and her hand slipped, accidentally burning him to nothing. Regardless, if Golden Peng and the others demanded an explanation, she would defend Senior Sister even if she had to lie through her teeth!
With this in mind, Jiang Mo subtly stepped forward, partially shielding Yun Qingyue behind her, her protective intent obvious.
The two focused most of their attention on this "momentary slip," but in truth, the other two present had no intention of pursuing the matter. Or rather, their attention had already been drawn elsewhere.
First was the "demon race" mentioned by Huiqian, and second was that flash of regret deep in Huiqian's eyes as he died.
Demon race, not demon cultivators! After the cataclysm tens of thousands of years ago, the passage from the demon realm to the cultivation world had been sealed by a grand formation, and the demonic creatures stranded in the cultivation world had been trapped and destroyed by the Demon-Confining Grand Formation. Since then, there had been no mention of the demon race in the cultivation world. Unlike the disappearance of the monstrous race, the demon race had truly been annihilated. How could they reappear now?
Could there be a breach in the sealing formation? Though Golden Peng and Abbot Huining thought it impossible, the warning left by Huiqian before his death weighed heavily on their minds, leaving them deeply troubled.
In comparison, the regret in Huiqian's eyes before death seemed less important—demonic patterns could influence one's nature and eventually control a person. Buddhist cultivators possessed the most perfect mental state, so when demonic patterns entered their bodies, there were generally only two possibilities: complete rejection or immediate death. For Huiqian to be parasitized by demonic patterns meant his mental state had flaws, leading to this calamity.
Abbot Huining knew that the flaw in Huiqian's mental state was because of him. They had entered the sect as fellow disciples, and Huiqian's talent had been superior to his own. Yet in the end, it was he who became the Abbot, he whose name became renowned, and Huiqian had unconsciously developed jealousy and resentment.
But now the person was dead, and naturally all returned to dust.
...
After a while, the Abbot finally pressed his palms together and uttered a Buddhist chant. That "Amitabha" pulled everyone's attention back to the present.
Yun Qingyue frowned. Though she didn't know why the ice flame had gone out of control earlier, what was done was done, and she naturally couldn't evade responsibility. She took the initiative to apologize: "I'm sorry, I lost control for a moment..."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo immediately stepped forward again, completely shielding her senior sister behind her: "Qingyue didn't mean to."
She spoke so quickly in defense that she interrupted Yun Qingyue before she could finish. Yun Qingyue's face again showed a trace of helplessness, but seeing the determined figure standing firmly before her, warmth filled her heart. She patted Jiang Mo's shoulder, indicating there was no need for such protection, and finished the remainder of her statement herself: "I lost control earlier, the ice flame somehow became unmanageable."
This sounded like an excuse, but both Golden Peng and Abbot Huining were perceptive individuals who could see she wasn't lying. Confusion flickered in their eyes, but they still reassured her: "It's all right. It was heaven's will."
They truly believed this, and besides, Huiqian had been parasitized by demonic patterns and wouldn't have survived anyway.
Seeing that neither man seemed inclined to pursue the matter, Jiang Mo also breathed a sigh of relief, then said softly: "This demon exorcism wasn't very successful..."
As she spoke, she glanced at the Abbot, her meaning clear—originally, Golden Peng had asked them to test on Huiqian to try expelling the demonic patterns before treating the Abbot. Now, while the demonic patterns were indeed burned away, the person had been burned away too. With such treatment results—a true case of "try it and perish"—would they dare use it on the Abbot?
Golden Peng clearly understood her implication. His eye twitched involuntarily as he hurriedly said: "Very well, we won't trouble you two further with the Abbot's injuries."
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Golden Peng had kept Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue behind originally to help dispel the black energy and heal the Abbot's wounds, but after witnessing what happened to Huiqian, he deeply felt that given the Abbot's current condition, such risk was unnecessary.
The Abbot was now weakened, and his wound had certainly been invaded by black energy, but perhaps after recovering his strength, he could expel it himself?
This would be the best outcome, and Golden Peng didn't want to consider alternatives for now. Setting that aside, the four had just learned a secret, so he and the Abbot were no longer in a hurry to send Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue away.
Golden Peng pondered for a moment, then asked the two: "Huiqian just mentioned the demon race... I haven't left the Buddha Sect for a long time and have only partial knowledge of outside news. Has the demon race truly infiltrated the cultivation world?"
The issue with the sealing formation was actually known to the upper echelons of all major sects. Especially in the Buddha Sect—why had Tan Xin fallen unconscious, why had he lost the Seven Treasures Glass Heart? When Jiang Mo brought him back, she had explained everything clearly. But even though Tan Xin had sacrificed himself to reinforce the seal, why had the demon race appeared in the cultivation world after just three short years?!
Golden Peng found it inconceivable, as did Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue, who cautiously asked: "Could he have been mistaken?"
However, Golden Peng and the Abbot clearly didn't think so. Besides, even if Huiqian had been mistaken, the man was now dead, his soul gone, making it impossible to question him further.
Jiang Mo felt this issue was quite thorny. After some thought, Yun Qingyue said: "I have not sensed the seal breaking."
That cataclysm from years ago had involved the entire cultivation world. Opening a passage between the two realms was no small matter, and sealing such a passage was equally significant. Therefore, while it was possible for problems to develop in the sealing formation unnoticed, it was almost impossible for it to break without a sound, allowing demons to enter the cultivation world without anyone knowing.
If the seal broke, even without earth-shattering changes, high-level cultivators would surely sense it!
This statement immediately gained the agreement of Golden Peng and the Abbot. They too had not sensed the seal breaking, which was why they were deeply suspicious about the appearance of the demon race. However, they had to admit one point—the demonic patterns that had infected Huiqian weren't ordinary demonic qi... they were powerful enough that they could possibly be related to the demon race.
...
The group conferred for a while, but without personally seeing members of the demon race, no one dared assert whether they existed or not. Nevertheless, this discussion had placed a massive stone on everyone's hearts, causing deep unease.
The Abbot, already injured, had taken spirit medicine, but the discussion had further taxed his spirit.
Golden Peng looked at the Abbot's once again pale face with concern and advised: "We can't reach a conclusion right now and need to plan carefully. Abbot, with your current injuries, you should focus on recovery first." As he spoke, he glanced at the wound on the Abbot's chest and abdomen. Blood was seeping from the treated wound, with black energy coiling around it, which was truly worrisome.
The Abbot, pale-faced and visibly fatigued, sighed deeply and expressed his concerns: "Actually, I'm worried about the many disciples who have lost contact recently. Huiqian returned from his journey in this state—those disciples, those disciples..."
Huiqian wasn't among the Buddha Sect's Three Great Dharma Masters, but he and the Abbot were fellow disciples of the same generation. Moreover, his talent was exceptional and his cultivation level not low. Yet even he had fallen victim to a scheme. How could the safety of the other elders and disciples be guaranteed? And not just those who had already lost contact—even those summoned back to the sect might encounter dangers on their journey.
Golden Peng, born and raised in the Buddha Sect, had a personality completely different from Zhiming, the Divine Lord of the Xuanqing Sect. He had deep feelings for the Buddha Sect and almost instinctively offered to go fetch the disciples himself. But he was just one person—how could he be in thousands of places at once?
Moreover, the Buddha Sect's recent troubles clearly indicated they were being targeted. The Abbot was injured, and the other elders were temporarily occupied with the malevolent qi. If he left the Buddha Sect and someone came to attack while he was gone, the disciples with their low cultivation levels couldn't possibly defend it. If the sect was completely overwhelmed, the loss would be irreparable!
Realizing this, Golden Peng quickly dismissed his irrational thought, but his concern for the disciples outside was genuine. As he considered this, his gaze unconsciously fell on Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue.
The two had high cultivation levels, and they had brought the malevolent qi. Regardless of whether there was a scheme behind this, the Buddha Sect's current predicament was somewhat related to them. Surely asking them for help wouldn't be too much?
Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue looked up to meet Golden Peng's gleaming eyes, and inexplicably felt a chill down their spines.
Just then, the Abbot spoke: "There is a matter for which I would like to request your assistance, fellow Daoists."