Chapter 63: Secret Realm Aftermath, Master’s Wife Arrives

Wen Yuanying had not wanted to come, since she knew Li Huan would be there. But as the Elder who had led the Tianyuan Sect’s delegation, she had to attend.

The moment she arrived, she heard Li Huan snapping at everyone and sharply reprimanded him.

“Junior Sister Wen, it’s been a while. I was only joking with them. Livening things up.”

As soon as Wen Yuanying appeared, Li Huan changed his tune and became much milder.

Li Huan’s temperament frightened even his own Mysterious Yin Sect. He dared to snap at its Sect Leader. Its Supreme Elder had punished him many times, but he was still the same.

“A long time, indeed. Did we not just part ways a few days ago?”

Qi Hu muttered under his breath.

“Old Man Qi, you don’t have to prove you can talk. Keep your mouth shut.”

Li Huan heard him and snapped back just as quietly.

“Alright, since everyone has gathered, let us discuss the matter at hand.”

With Wen Yuanying there, Lin Tiancheng got straight to business.

“Sect Leader Lin, is our young friend Qin Xiao here? We would still like to thank him.”

Wu Li had not seen Qin Xiao and asked curiously.

“He has told me what happened. Your disciples must have told you the rest. He need not attend this discussion. If you want to see him, I will send for him afterward.”

Lin Tiancheng had not expected them to want to thank Qin Xiao, so he explained.

“Very well. Then let us discuss the Beast-Control Sect. I did not take part three hundred years ago, but our association has records.”

Wu Li let the matter rest and opened the discussion of the Beast-Control Sect.

“The Mysterious Yin Sect has records too, but they are vague. We know little of the details.”

Li Huan added his account.

“Let me speak on this. I participated in that battle back then.” Find the original chapter at NovelPing.

Qi Hu thought for a moment, then decided to tell them himself.

Three hundred years ago, a group had arrived from Central Province. They did not seem to be cultivators, but every one of them was immensely powerful. Only later did people learn they were from the Supreme Heavenly Dynasty. They were reportedly pursuing someone and happened to encounter the Beast-Control Sect.

The group spent the next ten years searching without finding the person they wanted, then prepared to return. Before leaving, they demanded the Beast-Control Sect’s cultivation methods. The sect tried to outsmart them with an incomplete manual. Soon afterward, it was branded an evil sect. Every faction in Qingzhou was ordered to destroy it.

At first, the factions yielded to pressure. Once they learned they could share the Beast-Control Sect’s Beast-Control Art, greed made them agree. They gathered their disciples and destroyed the sect in a single day.

“Damn. That is shameless.”

Li Huan gave his verdict as soon as the story ended.

Li Huan was over two hundred years old; three hundred years ago, he had not even been born. He felt no personal responsibility and did not care that he was insulting his own sect along with the others.

“Watch your tongue. Although we did not initiate the matter, we still attacked them for our own interests.”

Qi Hu spoke helplessly.

“So that is the truth. No wonder the Supreme Elder was evasive and refused to elaborate when I questioned him.”

Lin Tiancheng had finally learned the truth. His sect’s records described some of the fighting, treating the Beast-Control Sect as an evil sect throughout.

In the cultivation world, the weak were prey to the strong, and few felt much guilt about destroying a rival. So much time had passed that hardly anyone cared what had really happened. If not for the encounter with Fan Hongfei on the secret realm’s second layer, it would have remained a story from the past.

“That explains our sects’ Beast-Taming Departments. But why target the Immortal Dao Merchant Association? You have no such department. Did you attack them too?”

Li Huan was curious. The sects had destroyed the Beast-Control Sect, so revenge against them made sense. Why take revenge on the association too?

“It is a long story. Fan Kangbo, the Beast-Control Sect’s leader, asked our association for help. He said his sect was not evil and wanted us to uphold justice. We knew it was not evil. But under pressure from the Supreme Heavenly Dynasty, and thinking of our own interests, we chose neutrality and said nothing. I imagine Fan Kangbo hated the association for that.”

Wu Li was troubled, but those were the facts. There was nothing to hide.

“The records say the Beast-Control Sect was wiped out, with no survivors. It seems the man in the secret realm is Fan Kangbo’s youngest son, who was believed to have died in an accident. He alone was not on the list. Everyone else was killed.”

Qi Hu voiced his own deduction.

“Then there is nothing more to say. The Abyss Secret Realm is lost to us. He must be mad with the desire to avenge his sect. Whoever goes in will die. And it admits no one over fifty. Is there a Soul Formation cultivator that young in Qingzhou?” Find the original chapter at novelping.com.

Li Huan knew now that his Supreme Elder had not told him the truth. He had been sent to discuss what to do, all solemnly. Do what, exactly? Why had nobody thought about that when they destroyed the sect? He could not clear up this mess. Once he went home, he would enter seclusion. Let them do what they liked. He wanted no part of it.

“The question now is not the secret realm itself, but whether he can leave it. If he can, we must be ready to respond. Otherwise, with a Soul Formation Demon Beast and a Soul Formation cultivator out there, our disciples will have to stay inside our sects.”

Qi Hu quickly added his warning.

The wrong had already been done. Now they could only compound it by eliminating this Beast-Control Sect survivor too. Otherwise, the sects would never feel safe with a Soul Formation cultivator watching for a chance to attack their disciples.

“Elder Qi is right. We should prepare. If he cannot leave the secret realm, all the better. But if he does, we need to be ready.”

Lin Tiancheng agreed with Qi Hu. At this point, right and wrong mattered less to them than protecting their sects’ interests and keeping their disciples safe.

“Is it really that serious? An early Soul Formation cultivator and a beast at the same stage. What is there to plan for? If he comes out, I can destroy them myself.”

Li Huan did not care. It was only early Soul Formation. They made it sound so formidable.

“If only it were that simple. My young master said the man was at peak Nascent Soul when they first met him. When they met him again that same day, he was already at early Soul Formation. We cannot ignore that speed. If he can enter and leave the secret realm freely, it may not take him long to reach late Soul Formation.”

Wu Li spoke quickly. Two at early Soul Formation would indeed be little cause for concern. But they must not overlook the Demon Beast: the man and beast together would not be easy to deal with.

“We’ll discuss it when it happens. He hasn’t come out yet. Even if he advances quickly, we have Body Integration ancestors, don’t we? Why worry so much?”

Li Huan still did not care. He would go into seclusion as soon as he got home. What did it have to do with him?

“I know this will take time to settle. Still, please tell your sects when you return. If he cannot leave, that is best. If he can, we must react in time and avoid needless casualties.”

Qi Hu knew they could not settle the matter at once, so he did not press it further.

“Sect Leader, the Great Elder of Heavenly Clothes Pavilion requests an audience.”

Just as Lin Tiancheng was about to speak again, a disciple came to announce Ye Qiuyue’s arrival.

“Sister Qiuyue is here? Invite her in at once. And fetch Qin Xiao too.”

Hearing of Ye Qiuyue’s arrival, Wen Yuanying gave instructions without delay.