Chapter 76 : True Lord Luohong
Chapter 76: True Lord Luohong
The Cloud Vessel landed directly on the Main Peak.
Including Long Tao, everyone present was escorted straight into the sect’s main hall.
Long Tao had entered the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect five years ago, and this was the first time he had ever witnessed such a spectacle.
At least several dozen Golden Core True Persons had gathered in one place.
Even though they deliberately restrained their pressure, the sheer presence of it still formed a vast and overwhelming aura.
And these were only those who could arrive in time.
Those stationed elsewhere, out on training journeys, or guarding critical posts and unable to appear—by his conservative estimate, of the more than two hundred Golden Core cultivators of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect, nearly a third were probably present now.
It was only reasonable.
The Wuyi Sect pulling something like this was practically the same as flipping the table and declaring war.
With matters escalating to the point of convening a sect assembly, this group of firsthand witnesses was certainly going to be thoroughly investigated and questioned.
Fang Wuqi, Zhu Huaisu, and the others who were not seriously injured had already been brought into the main hall immediately to face their elders’ concern and inquiries.
Prodigies were prodigies—this kind of scene was probably something they were used to, so there should not be any major issues.
As for injured individuals like Long Tao, they were settled into separate rooms.
He did not know what kind of treatment awaited him next, but given the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect’s consistently open-minded and gentle style, it probably would not come to directly resorting to soul-searching techniques… right?
While lying on the bed, Long Tao carefully organized how he should respond and the logic of his answers.
This incident was far too serious.
Not only had three personally transmitted disciples died, it also involved the Yaoguang Azure Phoenix and soul fluctuations at the Deification level.
This was no longer something that could be brushed off with a few perfunctory lines.
Long Tao knew very well that this time, even Nascent Soul True Lords might come personally to question him.
So he first set a baseline: everything except matters related to the System could not be lied about.
He had to tell the truth.
Details could be adjusted, but the core could not deviate.
As for the System… he could only gamble—gamble that even a Nascent Soul True Lord would not be able to detect it.
And if it was detected? Then that would be even better.
He would just dump all the blame onto the System and, while he was at it, have the True Lord help him extract it completely.
From then on, he would be totally free, no longer forced to complete tasks—wouldn’t that be perfect? After all, he had not done anything that harmed the sect.
With an attitude of honest confession, he would not suffer a major loss anyway.
But speaking of the Yaoguang Azure Phoenix, he also wondered whether he should raise a spirit pet himself.
That green phoenix that appeared during this mission—honestly speaking… even if the System allowed him to take it for himself, he would not hesitate to gift it to Nan Yuchen in exchange for an enormous favor.
How could a Quasi–Holy Beast be something an ordinary cultivator like him could afford to raise? Aside from someone like True Person Mingzhu, a true wealthy powerhouse, who could possibly afford such a gold-devouring beast?
He still longed more for the companionship of cats and dogs.
For example, Zhu Huaisu’s Dark Cloud Treading Snow—adorably clumsy, yet perfectly capable in combat support—was truly an ideal partner.
Just as he was imagining whether he should raise a cat or a dog in the future, the door suddenly creaked open softly with a “zhiya.”
Figures entered one after another—six people in total.
True Person Mingzhu, True Person Zhiying, and True Person Duanyue personally arriving did not surprise him.
They had experienced the incident firsthand, so coming to confront and verify matters was only natural.
But the remaining three instantly made Long Tao’s heart tighten.
Sect Master Zhuge Jingde, and the de facto Vice Sect Master Shi Manyu—these two were high-ranking and powerful, but given the severity of the situation, their joint arrival was still reasonable.
After all, the sect master of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect existed precisely to deal with these kinds of troublesome matters.
However, there was one more figure whose appearance he had never anticipated.
The strongest Nascent Soul of the sect—True Lord Luohong.
Damn it… this person’s name resounded like thunder throughout the entire Cultivation World, a figure who truly stood high above the clouds.
What kind of concept was that? If you went to any random sect or town thousands of li away and asked someone who the current sect master of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect was, nine out of ten would say they did not know, and the remaining one might even ask, “What is the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect?”
But if you asked who True Lord Luohong was—oh, that would definitely get things lively.
As for exactly how strong he was, Long Tao could not say for sure.
The cultivation realm of a Nascent Soul was something he simply could not comprehend.
But if it was a question of reputation, then there was plenty to talk about.
The ranking of Nascent Soul-level strength had always been a favorite topic of discussion in the Cultivation World.
After all, Deification Ancestors rarely showed themselves, making them hard to talk about, while the relative strength of Nascent Soul cultivators was what everyone cared about most.
And when it came to comparing who was stronger, there naturally had to be some authoritative rankings.
This world was simply too vast for there to be a single unified list.
Currently, there were six rankings that could be considered authoritative.
And on all six of them, True Lord Luohong was firmly within the top ten.
On four of those lists, he was ranked in the top five, and on two of them, he was ranked within the top three.
This was a ranking across the entire Cultivation World, not some regional minor list.
Every year, many sects or organizations came to the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect under the banner of “exchange and discourse.” At least half of them were probably there just to see True Lord Luohong—and among that half, it was said that eighty percent were female cultivators.
Although he had anticipated that a Nascent Soul-level figure would come, he never imagined it would be True Lord Luohong.
Combined with the extraordinary identities of the other five, the shock made him immediately jump out of bed and bow deeply to them all.
“Disciple Long Tao pays respects to the Sect Master, True Lord, and all True Persons.”
Although True Lord Luohong surpassed Sect Master Zhuge in age, seniority, and cultivation, rules were rules.
When disciples paid their respects, if the sect master was present, he must always be addressed first, as he was the sect’s nominal highest leader.
This was explicitly written into the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect’s rules.
The Sect Master, though stern in expression, still waved his hand and spoke as gently as possible.
“No need for excessive courtesy.
This matter is urgent.
As a firsthand witness, you should understand its gravity.
We will be brief.
Disciple Long Tao, the questions to follow all represent the sect.
Can you guarantee that every word you speak will be the truth?”
“This disciple can guarantee it.”
At this point, Long Tao had no other choice.
He would speak first and deal with specifics step by step.
“Good. Then recount everything you experienced during this Secret Realm exploration. Remember—everything, including why you were on that Cloud Vessel called the ‘Pitying Star.’”
Long Tao glanced at True Person Mingzhu and saw her subtly signal to him with her eyelids.
He guessed that she and Nan Yuchen had probably already explained everything that needed to be said, including that conversation in the Scripture Pavilion.
With that in mind, he had a clear direction.
He honestly recounted everything from the moment the System issued him the task.
The only difference was that he replaced the role played by the System—including the personality of that transmigrator senior—with the image of a senior expert known as an Itinerant Merchant.
After hearing his story, even the group of Golden Core cultivators showed expressions of disbelief.
As for True Lord Luohong, that handsome face of his maintained a constant smile, only revealing a hint of curiosity when Long Tao mentioned the soul power that surpassed the Nascent Soul level.
“An Itinerant Merchant?” The Sect Master pondered for a moment and exchanged glances with the other True Persons before speaking.
“According to the three Golden Core cultivators and the disciples within the Secret Realm—especially Nan Yuchen—your account generally matches the facts. The soul fluctuations that erupted at the time had indeed surpassed the Nascent Soul tier.”
After comparing accounts with the other disciples, the Sect Master had largely confirmed that Nan Yuchen’s testimony was basically true.
With his lie-detection ability, he also had not discovered any obvious falsehoods from this young man—only that when it came to that itinerant expert, his mental state seemed somewhat vague and peculiar.
What surprised Long Tao was that even the Golden Core True Persons outside the Secret Realm had sensed that soul fluctuation.
When he cautiously asked this question, True Person Zhiying, dressed in cyan robes, answered first.
“Yes. We were all frightened at the time. That fluctuation completely ignored the spatial difference between inside and outside the Secret Realm. The Withered-Hand Elder was scared off on the spot. After just a few breaths, True Person Wangshuo of the Wuyi Sect suddenly jumped out of the Secret Realm and fled without even caring about his fellow disciples.”
Hearing this, Long Tao was speechless for a moment.
It seemed that the Wuyi Sect Golden Core named Wangshuo had truly been scared out of his wits—he had even done something as disgraceful as abandoning his own sect members.
The Sect Master then continued.
“According to what you just said, that itinerant expert already knew you beforehand, but you did not know his true identity. He informed you in advance about the opening of the Secret Realm, and in return, you found a way to mix into the Secret Realm team. He then attached himself to you to watch over Nan Yuchen, whom he referred to as a Child of Destiny. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Sect Master. For low-level disciples like us, obtaining such information is extremely rare, so we agreed, thinking we could earn some money. We never expected so many things to happen afterward, much less that a Golden Core was hidden inside the Secret Realm. Otherwise, I would rather have died than agree.”